ARQL stock is on fire this year, and much of those gains are due to ArQule Inc’s (NASDAQ:ARQL) handsome cash balance and developments that bode well for its flagship drug, ARQ 531.
The Burlington, Massachusetts-based company is involved in developing therapeutics for different variants of cancer and other rare diseases. The company is a full-service firm, which is involved in every step of the process, starting from the development of the drug to its marketing. ArQule wants to provide patients suffering from hard-to-treat diseases with a range of drugs, which the company calls precision medicines.
Solid Quarterly Results
After the announcement of the company’s Q1 2019 results, the stock rose by as much as 13% and then settled down to end the day with a gain of 9% on Wednesday. However, the larger story regarding ArQule is that the company’s stock had been on a tear since March, when the company announced its Q4 2018 results in conjunction with its yearly figures for 2018. Since the release of those reports, the stock went on an astonishing rally and increased by a staggering 70%.
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In 2019 alone, ARQL stock has gained 130%. This may have surprised some, considering the fact that the company reported a loss of $10.4 million in the first quarter. However, there are other factors at play. The company has a healthy cash war chest of $92 million that will help it in funding research and development, while its flagship drug ARQ 531 has shown promise in trials.
The Prospects
ARQ 531 is a drug that has immense promise. In one of the trials, it proved to be helpful for a patient suffering from leukemia. The drug in question is meant for inhibiting Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK), and if it succeeds in its function, then it can make cancer cells far more receptive to medical treatment.
The market for a drug of that nature can run into billions of dollars and therein lies the sheer promise of ARQL stock. More importantly, the fact that the ARQ 531 binds to cancer cells reversibly makes it a far better proposition than the BTK drugs that are already available. In addition to this particular drug, the company stated that it has four more drugs in development. The outlook for ARQL stock looks good.
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