EDIT - Why Editas Medicine's Shares Jumped This Week
Shares of Editas Medicine (NASDAQ: EDIT) were up 21.1% for the week as of Friday morning, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence . The gene-editing biotech has actually had a two-week run. Its shares have climbed 48.7% since January 19, the day it announced it was selling EDIT-202, a gene-editing therapy to fight solid tumors, to Shoreline Biosciences for an undisclosed amount.
Investors clearly are in favor of the company's moves to strengthen its cash position and long-term prospects. On January 9, management said the company was cutting 20% of its workforce and streamlining its operations to focus on EDIT-301. In the wake of that announcement and the sale of EDIT-202, retail investors have increased their positions in the company.
The science that Editas Medicine uses has shown tremendous potential. The company uses the CRISPR-associated protein (Cas9) to change a person's own cells at the DNA level to fight a variety of diseases. The company's lead candidate, EDIT-301, is a therapy designed to correct genetic errors in genomes to cure two rare, inherited blood diseases: transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia (TBT) and sickle cell disease (SCD).
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Why Editas Medicine's Shares Jumped This Week