KUALA LUMPUR (June 1): Shares of Genting Bhd got off to a firm start in June after the conglomerate announced the completion of clinical trials of an Alzheimer’s drug by its 20.3%-owned company, TauRx Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
The stock opened 12 sen or 2.53% higher at RM4.87 at the opening bell and surged to a high of RM5.34 before closing 49 sen or 10.32% higher to RM5.24, for a market capitalisation of RM20.32 billion.
Some 89.15 million shares changed hands.
JPMorgan, in a research note, highlighted TauRx’s initial data from the LUCIDITY Phase 3 clinical trial, which it reckoned tilted towards the positive side.
“TauRx’s lead investigative oral drug, HMTM, has been tested in 598 people with Alzheimer’s. After a 12-month blinded study, participants have moved forward to an additional one-year open label phase.
“The output indicates that participants who received HMTM declined at a rate substantially less than is typical for Alzheimer’s, for both cognitive and functional end points, across a broad range of severity from mild cognitive impairment to moderate Alzheimer’s,” the research house said.
A check on Bloomberg shows 13 analysts have a “buy” call on Genting, while there are two “hold” calls, with the highest target price set at RM7 and the lowest at RM5.37.
Source: TheEdge - 2 Jun 2022