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Pieris Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PIRS) Has A Near Term Catalyst That Could See It Run Higher

Pieris Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PIRS) Has A Near Term Catalyst That Could See It Run Higher
Written by
Chris Sandburg
Published on
May 31, 2017
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Pieris Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PIRS) has been a big winner for us over the last four weeks. We alerted our readers and subscribers that the company was one to watch back on May 4, 2017. The company had run up some, but we suggested there was plenty of run room left ahead of a number of key catalysts and announcements throughout the remainder of 2017.At the time, Pieris traded for $3.50 a piece. At last count, the company went for $4.62. That's a 32% in May alone. And we think that the train has only just left the station. It's taken them a month to catch up to us, but Rodman & Renshaw agree with our thesis. The team over there just initiated coverage at a $9 buy.Sometimes we see a biotech that gets completely overlooked by the markets, for whatever reason, and these oversights serve up some of the simplest opportunities to draw profit from the market as the oversight corrects and the company in question revalues to reflect the correction.This looks to be one such example.As a quick introduction, Pieris has put together a portfolio of preclinical and early clinical stage assets based on a proprietary technology, and an asset type based on this technology called Anticalins. They are a mimetic antibody that can be used in many of the same ways antibodies can be used but that are far smaller than antibodies and – as a result – can be applied to a far wider range of indications.The company's strategy is simple – create a treatment based on this technology then find a big name to pay for the rights to it. Execution of this strategy has, so far, been flawless. Pieris has deals in place with Roche Holding Ltd. (VTX:ROG), Sanofi SA (ADR) (NYSE:SNY), Servier and, as per our last coverage, AstraZeneca plc (ADR) (NYSE:AZN). The combination of these partnerships has the potential to bring more than $4 billion milestone dollars to Pieris and right now the company trades for a market capitalization of less than $200 million.As per the company's most recent announcement, James Geraghty just joined Pieris' Board of Directors. He's an industry veteran having served in a range of senior-level positions at Genzyme and – subsequent to the latter's acquisition – served as Senior Vice President, North America Strategy and Business Development at Sanofi. He also spent the last four years at Third Rock – a household name in the biotech venture capital space.So what are we looking for next?Well, we're holding out for some fresh partnership announcements, but that's not all we’ve got our eye on. There's a near-term data release that could drive this one into the $7-10 range on its release (conservatively) if it hits press as positive. The drug is called PRS-080 and it's targeting anemia. Back in February, Pieris struck a deal with Japanese drugmaker ASKA Pharmaceutical Co that saw the latter pick up the rights to the drug in Japan and other Asian regions. Pieris retained the rights in the US and Europe, and the drug advanced into a phase IIa multiple dose study almost immediately after the deal hit press. Data from this trial is expected to be released during the third quarter of this year (latest communication says second half 2017, but trial length/expected completion can be used to narrow this a little).If the data is strong, it's important for two reasons.First, it validates the platform in its latest stage trial to date in a large, unmet need. Second, it gives the company something to go to big pharma with as a pitch for rights sale. Chances are that, in reality, Pieris won't have to do much shopping around of the drug if the data is strong – we think there are probably plenty of big names waiting in the wings with one eye on topline and an offer drafted.The above mentioned AstraZeneca deal removed a large portion of the dilutive risk associated with this stock when the upfront capital hit the balance sheet, so aside from PRS-080 failure in the upcoming data release, there's very little in terms of near to medium term risk right now.We will be updating our subscribers as soon as we know more. For the latest updates on PIRS, sign up below!Disclosure: We have no position in any of the securities mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.

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