Evotec, Morphosys, Defence Therapeutics: Strong biotech stocks

Defence Therapeutics: Fighting pancreatic cancer

According to the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality rate of all major cancers. The 5-year combined survival rate for all stages is only 12%. This is what Defence Therapeutics aims to change. Recently, the Canadian biotech has contracted Transbiotech Biotechnology Research and Transfer Center to begin testing its cellular anti-cancer ARM vaccine against deadly pancreatic cancer. This is not the first application of the vaccine. In vivo animal trials with solid T-cell lymphomas and melanomas have already been successfully completed. The results were very promising: 80% to 100% of the treated animals showed complete tumor regression.

If the results for pancreatic cancer are similarly positive, the share could take off again. Around the turn of the year, the Defence Therapeutics share more than tripled within a few weeks. From a high of EUR 3.20, it has corrected significantly in recent weeks and is now trading at EUR 1.68. Perhaps a second chance to get in? For the experts at researchanalyst.com, the biotech company is certainly exciting. From the analysts' perspective, Defence Therapeutics has several other irons in the fire. The exact details can be found in the study here.

Morphosys: Fresh analyst view causes euphoria

Morphosys shows how quickly the price of a biotech share can shoot up when the mood has turned. This year, the share price has more than doubled. For a long time, it was considered either the eternal bearer of hope or a hopeless case. But in the meantime, it is trading at EUR 27, and if UBS has its way, there is still much more to come. The analysts recommended the Morphosys share as a buy in their initial study. The price target is an impressive EUR 47. The current share price shows that the market has lost hope in Morphosys' drug pipeline and is only evaluating the sales of Monjuvi. The blood cancer drug Pelabresib alone has a sales potential of over USD 1 billion and is thus a potential blockbuster. From that, the UBS analysts calculated a net present value of EUR 35 per share.

JP Morgan is among the "hopeless". For their analysts, sales from the blood cancer drug Monjuvi are not developing as expected. Therefore, they rate Morphosys "Underweight" and see a price target of EUR 12. Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs also recommend the share with "Sell" and a price target of EUR 13 and EUR 12.50, respectively.

Evotec with a "Tesla moment"

Similar to Morphosys, Evotec has also gone through difficult times. The Hamburg-based company's shares are also looking good at the moment. After EUR 15 in December 2022, the share is now back at around EUR 23. The recent jump in the share price was triggered by Citigroup. For them, Evotec is the "Tesla of biologics manufacturers" and has enormous growth potential. The agreement with a subsidiary of the pharmaceutical giant Novartis, for example, has made the opportunities of the Evotec platform more concrete. The deal with the Novartis subsidiary would result in possible milestone payments of up to USD 640 million with low risks. Reason enough for Citi analysts to raise their price target for Evotec shares by 50% to EUR 31.60. Our colleagues at Warburg are similarly optimistic. They also recommend the Evotec share as a buy; the price target is EUR 30.

While BioNTech is currently out, the shares of Evotec and Morphosys are stepping on the gas. Defence Therapeutics shows that a correction can occur at any time. However, if the newsflow continues to be so positive, this share should also tend towards the old high again.