Healthcare Stocks That Hit New Highs (ARWR, ELMD, SGEN...)

(RTTNews) - The following are the healthcare stocks that hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday.

1. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ARWR) hit a new high of $45.85 in intraday trading on Wednesday, before closing at $48.87. The stock jumped more nearly 300% year-to-date.

Arrowhead Pharma is a revenue-generating biopharmaceutical company with a strong pipeline.

Lead drug candidate, ARO-AAT to treat alpha-1 liver disease is in phase II/III study dubbed SEQUOIA, in the U.S. The company has secured regulatory clearance in the United Kingdom for the phase II study of ARO-AAT, dubbed ARO-AAT 2002.

Another drug in the pipeline, JNJ-3989, formerly known as ARO-HBV, that the company licensed to Janssen pharmaceuticals in 2018, is being investigated in chronic hepatitis B.

A phase IIb study of a triple combination of JNJ-3989, JNJ-6379, a developmental drug with Janssen for the treatment of Hepatitis B, and a Nucleos(t)Ide Analog (NA), dubbed REEF-1, is underway. Initial data were presented at The Liver Meeting 2019, on November 11.

Positive results from the phase II study of JNJ-3989 in combination with an NA, for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B, dubbed AROHBV1001, were also presented in the meeting.

The company had revenue of $42.7 million in the third quarter ended June 30, 2019, compared with 0.7 million in the same quarter a year ago.

2. Electromed Inc. (ELMD) recorded a new high of $9.50 in intraday trading on Wednesday, before closing at $9.29. The stock is up 80% year-to-date.

Electromed is a medical device company focused on designing, manufacturing and marketing airway clearance technologies. The company markets SmartVest Airway Clearance System.

In August, the company entered into agreements with one national and one regional Home Medical Equipment (HME) distributors to sell SmartVest Airway Clearance System, starting from the current quarter. However, the company expects to continue its direct sales channel as its primary home care revenue source.

The company reported strong fourth-quarter financial results in August.

Net income in the fourth quarter grew 13.9% to $1.1 million, or $0.13 per share, from $1.0 million, or $0.11 per share, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue increased 9.3% to $8.6 million from $7.9 million in the same quarter a year ago.

3. Seattle Genetics, Inc. (SGEN) recorded a new high of $113.12 in intraday trading on Wednesday, before closing at $112.21. The stock is up nearly 100% year-to-date.

Seattle Genetics is a biotechnology company that develops and commercializes therapies for the treatment of cancer.

The company has a robust pipeline with a number of late-stage programs.

Lead drug candidate, Enfortumab vedotin is under review by the FDA for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who have received a PD-1/L1 inhibitor and who have received a platinum-containing chemotherapy in a neoadjuvant/adjuvant, locally advanced or metastatic setting. The decision is expected on March 15, 2020. Seattle and Astella's pharma (ASTL) share equal rights in Enfortumab vedotin, under the agreement signed in 2007.

HER2CLIMB, a phase III study of Tucatinib in combination with Genentech's trastuzumab (Herceptin) and chemotherapy drug capecitabine, proposed for the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer, met its primary endpoint last month.

4. Opiant Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OPNT) hit a new high of $18.23 in intraday trading on Wednesday, before closing at $15.95. The stock is up 10% year-to-date.

Opiant Pharma, a specialty pharmaceutical company, develops medicines for addictions and drug overdose.

The company's marketed product NARCAN Nasal Spray, licensed to Emergent BioSolutions (EBS), was approved in 2015. NARCAN Nasal Spray is a concentrated formulation of naloxone- a drug approved in 1971 to treat opioid overdose.

The company is currently developing a more potent, longer-acting opioid antagonist, OPNT003 (Nalmefene). In a pilot clinical study, fully funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), nalmefene showed more rapid onset and longer duration of action compared to naloxone. A pivotal pharmacokinetic study is underway with data expected in the second half of this year. If everything goes well, Opiant expects to file NDA in 2020.

OPNT002, nasal naltrexone for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), is entering phase II study.

Opiant reported strong third-quarter results On November 12.

Net income for the third quarter was approximately $10.68 million, or $1.97 per share, compared to net loss of $0.9 million, or $0.32 per share, for the comparable period last year.

Revenue for the quarter was $20.64 million compared with $4.37 million in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue for the current quarter included a one-time milestone payment of $13.5 million by Emergent BioSolutions, as sales of Narcan exceeded $200 million through the third quarter of 2019.

5. IGM Biosciences, Inc. (IGMS) recorded a new high of $26.92 in intraday trading on Wednesday, before closing at $25.45. The stock was debuted on the Nasdaq on September 18, 2019, at an opening price of $18.31.

IGM Biosciences, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, develops engineered Immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies for the treatment of cancer.

The company's lead product candidate is IGM-2323, a bispecific TC-engaging IgM antibody designed to target CD20 and CD3 proteins. The company initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial of IGM-2323 for the treatment of relapsed/refractory B cell NHL patients last month, and initial data are expected in 2020.

Up next in the pipeline is an IgM antibody targeting Death Receptor 5 [DR5] proteins for the treatment of patients with solid and hematologic malignancies. The company plans to file an IND for a DR5 IgM antibody in 2020.