When investors think of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma stocks, big names like Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) and Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) come to mind. Both GILD and CELG are making prolific progress in the war on NHL, and both are fine, well-positioned companies. It's little Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:INFI) that may end up making the proverbial quantum leap in the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma stocks arena, however, and better still, it's INFI shares that may well end up doling out a much bigger reward than Gilead or Celgene could to newcomers.
The non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is worth about $6 billion per year now, and is projected to be worth more than $8 billion by 2019. That's why so many companies are working on treatments. Not all of them are making rapid or effective progress though. In fact, Celgene Corporation announced a couple of days ago that its Revlimid trial (as a treatment for B-cell lymphomatic leukemia) was being discontinued due it ineffectiveness. The drug and the company are still a player in the NHL world, but the drug's failure is an example of how blood-related cancers are not easy diseases to target.
Gilead Sciences currently has Idelalisib in Phase 2 trials as a therapy for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and though it looks a little more encouraging than most other in-development NHL drugs at this point, the end of Phase 3 trials is a long way away, and much could disrupt that journey.
To be fair, it's not as if INFI is a significantly better bet. On a relative basis though, while the market is pricing shares of GILD and CELG as of they're sure things, and giving their stocks' prices a little extra bump for being an established and diversified biotech name. Infinity, on the other hand, is getting little love. That, however, is where the opportunity lies... nobody sees this little company coming.
With a market cap of only $870 million, it's not like Infinity Pharmaceuticals turns a lot of heads within the investment community. The pipeline of only four drugs (treating five different indications) isn't terribly deep either. None of these trials is past Phase 2 testing. Yet, there's just something compelling about INFI - and its NHL drug IPI-145 - that says this stock could be a real Cinderella story.
As interesting (though admittedly incomplete) as the efficacy data is so far, it's the chart of Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. After a great 2012 and early-2013 that carried the stock from around $10.00 to as high as $50.00, the tide turned against the stock and pulled it all the way back to $15.00 just a few weeks ago. But, we've seen a low, arc-shaped recovery effort since then... the kind of reversal that lasts because it starts slow and then builds steam [as opposed to V-shaped reversals, which start with a bang but leave no gas in the tank]. The fact that INFI is so severely oversold only makes for more upside potential.
Bottom line? Infinity is unknown and unloved, yet has a great story that the market can easily fall in love with (again). Don't overthink it. The stock's starting to rise again as that love rebuilds. Time to take a swing.
Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a SmallCap Network Featured Stock. If you'd like to get more updates and information (and opinion) on the company and the stock's trend - like when to take some profits - be sure to sign up for the free SCN daily e-newsletter.
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