Roth starts AmpliPhi Biosciences at buy
Roth Capital Partners has initiated coverage of AmpliPhi Biosciences (OTC:APHB) with a “buy” rating and price target of $1. The stock closed at 59 cents on Wednesday.
Phage are naturally occurring viruses that infect and kill bacteria but are benign and non-infective to eukaryotic human cells. They are abundant in the natural environment. Bacteriophage have been used for over a century throughout parts of the world as a treatment for bacterial infections, but have not been widely commercially developed for this purpose in the Western World due to the heavy reliance on antibiotics.
AmpliPhi is developing several bacteriophage therapies and has the platform in place to develop many more, writes analyst Joseph Pantginis.
“We see compelling value in AmpliPhi currently, namely because its products are early stage,” he said. “However, due to extensive historical use, we believe this is an unusually de-risked early-stage company.”
Mr. Pantginis figures the development programs at AmpliPhi could be accelerated due to both the unmet medical need and potentially faster development timelines. “We also believe that as the product candidates move forward the partnering potential is high,” he added.