Analysts Conflicted on These Healthcare Names: Tocagen Inc (TOCA) and Anixa Biosciences Inc (ANIX)


Companies in the Healthcare sector have received a lot of coverage today as analysts weigh in on Tocagen Inc (TOCA) and Anixa Biosciences Inc (ANIX).

Tocagen Inc (TOCA)

In a report released yesterday, George Zavoico from B.Riley FBR initiated coverage with a Hold rating on Tocagen Inc and a price target of $1. The company’s shares closed last Monday at $0.93, close to its 52-week low of $0.73.

Zavoico said:

“This morning, 9/12, before market open, Tocagen, Inc. (TOCA) announced top line results of a randomized, open-label, registrational Phase III trial, called TOCA5, of its combination TOCA 511 + TOCA FC therapy versus standard of care (SoC) in patients with recurrent brain cancer and planned tumor resection surgery. A total of 403 patients were enrolled and the final data analysis to calculate the primary endpoint, median overall survival (mOS), was triggered after 257 patients died. The mOS in the TOCA 511 + TOCA FC group is 11.1 months versus 12.2 months in the SoC group, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.06 and a p-value of 0.62. Tocagen reported no differences in any of the secondary endpoints and a safety, tolerability, and adverse event profile that was as expected for this patient population.”

According to TipRanks.com, Zavoico has currently no stars on a ranking scale of 0-5 stars, with an average return of -7.9% and a 37.5% success rate. Zavoico covers the Healthcare sector, focusing on stocks such as Iovance Biotherapeutics Inc, Acasti Pharma, Inc., and Infinity Pharma.

Currently, the analyst consensus on Tocagen Inc is a Hold with an average price target of $1, representing a 33.1% upside. In a report released yesterday, Robert W. Baird also downgraded the stock to Hold.

See today’s analyst top recommended stocks >>

Anixa Biosciences Inc (ANIX)

In a report released today, Andrew D’silva from B.Riley FBR maintained a Buy rating on Anixa Biosciences Inc, with a price target of $11.25. The company’s shares closed last Monday at $3.96.

D’silva said:

“Anixa Biosciences (ANIX) filed its 10-Q for F3Q19 (July quarter) on 9/6. The company posted an adj. EPS/adj. EBITDA of ($0.11)/($1.2M), versus our estimate of ($0.23)/($2.5M); we represent consensus. The bottom-line beat was primarily due to opex coming in ~$2.7M lower than we projected with $1.4M being tied to lower-than-expected stock-based compensation, as the company recognized $0.9M in SBC, vs. our projection of $2.3M. ANIX exited 3Q with $6.5M in cash/ST investments and a strong current ratio of 4.6:1.0. We believe the company is adequately capitalized to meet its near-term objectives, but we continue to expect equity raises to take place in the coming quarters, primarily to fund ongoing clinical trials/development programs.”

According to TipRanks.com, D’silva is a 3-star analyst with an average return of 2.0% and a 42.2% success rate. D’silva covers the Healthcare sector, focusing on stocks such as Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc, Oramed Pharmaceuticals, and Sensus Healthcare Inc.

The word on The Street in general, suggests a Moderate Buy analyst consensus rating for Anixa Biosciences Inc with a $11.25 average price target.

TipRanks has tracked 36,000 company insiders and found that a few of them are better than others when it comes to timing their transactions. See which 3 stocks are most likely to make moves following their insider activities.

Stay Ahead of Everyone Else

Get The Latest Stock News Alerts