Small-cap stocks are generically valued somewhere between $300 million and $2 billion. But today we’re looking at Arrowhead stock which, in recent months, climbed out of the small-cap territory.
2019 has turned Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR) into one of the most sought-after pharmaceutical companies out there.
With a market cap of $2.56 billion and shares selling for $26.53 USD at present, let’s check in with Arrowhead.
Arrowhead Stock Doubles in 2018 and 2019
The clinical-stage company gained 238% in 2018. Now, thus far in 2019, it has gained a further 1oo%. Shares continue to rise because of the company’s potentially curative treatment—called ARO-HBV—for the hepatitis B virus.
Back in October, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) got behind the company’s drug by licensing ARO-HBV and renaming it JNJ-3989. Johnson & Johnson gave Arrowhead $250 million up front and an agreement that will see it receive $1.6 billion in milestone payments for JNJ-3989.
Arrowhead stock then surged further in April of this year, when an ongoing 40-patient study showed that “JNJ-3989 led to lower levels of HBV surface antigen for all 40 patients treated.”
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And according to The Motley Fool:
“Remaining signs of an active HBV infection were reduced to a negligible level for 88% of patients who had 24 or more weeks of observation, and results from a higher dosage cohort could thrill investors again later this year.”
JNJ-3989 has further trials to undertake, but when the higher dosage cohort goes well, then J&J expects to push the drug through development fast.
Arrowhead Stock Takeaway
As it stands, the hepatitis B infection and virus kills almost 1 million lives annually around the globe. There is no known cure at present, so if JNJ-3989 continues to look like a potential cure, Arrowhead stock may double again before 2020.
Arrowhead has become a company to watch in the pharmaceutical sector. Akin to J&J, fellow-pharma giant Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) has partnered with the company to develop a clinical-stage candidate. This is along with Arrowhead itself having three wholly-owned new drug candidates in clinical trials that also could yield potentially exciting results.
If so, then Arrowhead stock could continue to rise for quite some time.
Featured Image: DepositPhotos © kwanchaidp
