Shares of Compugen (CGEN) plummeted 18% to close at $5.87 on November 12 after the Israel-based cancer immunotherapy company reported a loss for the third quarter of FY2021.
Quarterly Performance
The company reported an adjusted loss of $0.07 per share against the reported loss of $0.09 per share for the same quarter last year.
The company earned revenue of $6 million against zero revenues in the year-ago quarter. The revenue growth reflects the milestone from AstraZeneca, triggered by the dosing of the first patient in AstraZeneca’ Phase 1/2 study. The study relates to a T-cell immunoreceptor with immunoglobulin and ITIM domains (TIGIT) bispecific derived from COM902.
COM902 is Compugen’s second fully-owned clinical antibody, targeting TIGIT, for the treatment of solid and hematological tumors. Currently, it is undergoing Phase 1 studies as a single agent and in dual combination.
CEO Comments
Concurrent with the earnings announcement, management provided an update on the ongoing clinical studies, and the presentation of the clinical and pre-clinical data at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) meeting. (See Compugen stock charts on TipRanks)
Compugen CEO, Anat Cohen-Dayag, commented, “The favorable safety and tolerability data from the COM701 triple combination dose escalation study combined with the translational results showing potent immune activation are supportive of our DNAM axis hypothesis and serve as an important milestone enabling our continued advancement of the triple blockade of PVRIG, TIGIT and PD-1 in select biomarker informed tumor types.”
Sharing his views on the recent Bristol Myers Squibb $20 million investment in the company, the CEO stated, “We believe the growing commitment from Bristol Myers Squibb, along with the advancement of AstraZeneca’s COM902 derived TIGIT/PD-1 bispecific in the clinic, provide important external validation to our approach, and we will continue our steady execution to maintain our first mover advantage in the space.”
Analysts Recommendation
Following the earnings announcement, JMP Securities analyst Reni Benjamin reiterated a Buy rating on the stock and maintained a price target of $18, which implies upside potential of 206.7%.
TipRanks data shows that financial blogger opinions are 100% Bullish on CGEN, against a sector average of 69%.
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