FATE - Here's Why Fate Therapeutics Rose 18.4% in May
Shares of Fate Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FATE) gained over 18% last month, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Most of the stock's gains in May can be traced to a single announcement by the cell-therapy developer.
On May 20, the development-stage company announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared a new drug candidate to begin clinical trials. Identified as FT538, the drug candidate is the first cell therapy that has been both engineered with CRISPR gene-editing tools and derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). The combination could lead to safer, more effective, and significantly lower-cost drug products.
Investors cheered the latest sign of progress for the early stage pipeline -- and the momentum hasn't waned. In fact, a public offering of common stock on June 9 triggered additional gains for the pharma stock. Apparently, investors are content with dilution so long as Fate Therapeutics maintains a well-funded balance sheet.