What happened
Shares of Mirati Therapeutics (MRTX) are up more than 27% as of 10:25 a.m. ET. The company released earnings after the markets closed on Tuesday. The healthcare stock is down more than 21% so far this year.
So what
Mirati is a biotech company that focuses on therapies to treat cancer. After the markets closed on Tuesday, the company reported fiscal 2023 third-quarter revenue of $13.7 million, up 154% year over year and a net loss of $176.9 million compared to a loss of $176.5 million in the same period a year ago. The company also had several updates regarding its pipeline and management.
Mirati said it plans to begin a phase 3 combination study of adagrasib with pembrolizumab as a treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in patients with a tumor proportion score (TPS) greater than 50%. The company also said MRTX1719 showed a good safety profile and early signs of effectiveness in a phase 1 study to treat solid tumors with MTAP-gene deletions.
In addition, Mirati said CEO David Meek would be departing and will be replaced on an interim basis by former CEO, president and Mirati founder Charles Baum.
Now what
Amid all the good news was the announcement Wednesday that the company planned a public stock offering of $300 million. While this normally would bring the stock down because it dilutes the stock's value to investors, the move made sense as the company is moving to move several late-stage candidates closer to Food and Drug Administration approval.
Two analysts upgraded their positions on the stock Wednesday. B. Riley moved its position from neutral to buy, and Oppenheimer boosted its target price from $56 to $62.
