What happened
Shares of Clearside Biomedical (CLSD -1.03%) jumped on Thursday following bullish analyst commentary. As of 3 p.m. EDT, the biopharmaceutical company's stock price was up more than 12% after rising as much as 47% earlier in the day.
So what
Clearside Biomedical is developing an experimental treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The biotech announced positive phase 1/2a safety results on Tuesday for CLS-AX, which showed that the drug was well tolerated with no serious adverse events reported during the trial.
This morning, Wedbush analyst Liana Moussatos reiterated her outperform rating on Clearside Biomedical's stock and boosted her share-price forecast from $6 to $18. In addition to the promising results from its early-stage trial for CLS-AX, the biotech's specialized injection platform, Moussatos noted, could help doctors better treat eye diseases by providing a more effective way to deliver drugs into patients' eyes.
Now what
Moussatos's new price target represents potential gains for shareholders of nearly 300% from the stock's current price near $4.57. That possible upside is certainly intriguing. However, as an early-stage, small-cap biotechnology company, Clearside Biomedical remains a relatively high-risk investment. And its stock price is likely to remain volatile in the days and months ahead.