DBVT - Aimmune Therapeutics Just Made History: Is It a Buy?
Aimmune Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: AIMT) -- a California-based biotechnology company -- recently made history. The company's drug Palforzia became the first treatment for peanut allergies to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Naturally, investors received the news well, with Aimmune Therapeutics' shares rising by more than 6% on the heels of this announcement.
Over the past 12 months, shares of the company are up by 14%. While this performance trails that of the S&P 500 -- which is up by 23% over the past year -- with the recent approval of Palforzia, it's worth wondering whether Aimmune Therapeutics can provide strong market returns from here.
Palforzia is currently Aimmune Therapeutics' only approved product, but the peanut allergy drug has some serious potential. Peanut allergy is the most common type of allergy affecting children in the U.S., with more than 1.6 million children and teens affected. Further, this condition has been on the rise for many years: There was a 205% increase in the incidence of peanut allergy between 2001 and 2017.