2024-01-21 07:33:12 ET
Summary
- Immunocore Holdings plc is a commercial-stage biotechnology company focused on developing immunotherapies for cancer, infectious, and autoimmune diseases.
- The company's stock is up around 80% since late October and now is solidly in mid-cap territory.
- The stock has gotten shout outs from Barron's and Robert W. Baird to start the new year.
- Are further gains ahead in 2024 for Immunocore shareholders? An analysis follows in the paragraphs below.
It is easier to be wise for others than for ourselves .”? Francois De La Rochefoucauld
Today, we put Immunocore Holdings plc ( IMCR ) in the spotlight for the first time. The stock is up around 80% since its recent lows of late October and is now squarely in mid-cap territory. Earlier this month, the weekly market publication Barron's named Immunocore as a potential buyout target. Can the rally in the stock continue in 2024. The company also got a ' shout out ' from Robert W. Baird as a top biotech pick to begin the year. An analysis follows below.
Company Overview:
This commercial-stage biotechnology company is headquartered just outside of London in Milton Park, UK. The company is focused on the development and commercialization of immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer, infectious, and autoimmune diseases. With the recent rally, the shares go for just under seventy bucks a share and sport an approximate market capitalization of $3.6 billion.
March Company Presentation
The company has one approved product on the market called KIMMTRAK. This became the first FDA-approved T-cell receptor (TCR) therapeutic for uveal melanoma in early 2022. Uveal melanoma is a rare type of melanoma occurring in the eye. KIMMTRAK also was the first cancer cell and gene therapy approved for any solid tumor and is approved in over 35 countries including the U.S., Canada and throughout Europe.
March Company Presentation
The crux of Immunocore's developmental efforts is to advance KIMMTRAK to treat other cancer indications. This compound is described as 'a novel bispecific protein comprised of a soluble T cell receptor fused to an anti-CD3 immune-effector function '.
March Company Presentation
KIMMTRAK was developed from Immunocore's proprietary ImmTAC technology platform which has been designed to redirect and activate T cells to recognize and kill tumor cells.
Company Website
In its third quarter earnings press release , management stated that late-stage trial 'PRAME-A02' is progressing. Data from this trial evaluating KIMMTRAK in multiple tumors is expected in the first half of this year and the first patient will be randomized in a Phase 3 cutaneous melanoma trial 'PRISM-MEL301' in the first quarter. This is a registrational trial for first-line cutaneous melanoma. Randomization was also continuing in a Phase 2/3 trial evaluating KIMMTRAK in HLA-A*02:01 positive patients with second-line or later cutaneous melanoma.
March Company Presentation
Third Quarter Results:
The company posted its Q3 numbers on November 7th. The company posted GAAP earnings of four cents a share, forty cents a share above the consensus. Revenues rose just over 37% on a year-over-year to $62.9 million, which was slightly above expectations. $60.7 million of overall revenues came from net product sales of KIMMTRAK.
Analyst Commentary & Balance Sheet:
Since third quarter results were posted, nine analyst firms including JP Morgan and Needham have reissued Buy/Outperform ratings on the stock. Price targets proffered range from $60 to $90 a share.
Just over nine percent of the outstanding float in the shares are currently held short. The company ended the third quarter with £364.0 million in cash and marketable securities on its balance sheet. Immunocore's management recently noted its preliminary cash balance projection upon fourth quarter close was $443 million.
Verdict:
Immunocore Holdings plc lost $1.13 a share on just over $180 million in revenue in FY2022. The current analyst firm consensus projects the losses will fall slightly to $1.05 a share as FY2023 is put into the book on $248 million in sales. They project sales growth of just under 15% in FY2024, but see losses rising to just north of $1.60 a share.
The stock has had a huge recent run. Outside of a buyout, the shares would seem poised to at least have a period of consolidation and profit taking is likely especially if we get a pull back in the overall market in the months ahead. With the global economy cooling and after the huge gains in equities in the last nine weeks of 2023, that seems likely. The equity has already exceeded several price targets of analyst firms that have Buy ratings on the stock. Therefore, while Immunocore is executing solidly as a business, I would not chase the shares at these levels.
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. ”? Desiderius Erasmus
For further details see:
Immunocore Holdings: Vulnerable To Profit Taking After Big Rally