NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Shares of YM BioSciences Inc. (YMI) soared 68% Tuesday on nearly 11 times the normal daily volume.
Analysts said they weren't sure what was driving the stock higher, and the company said in a statement that its policy is not to comment on unusual market activity.
Shares closed up 67 cents, or 68%, at $1.66, a fresh 52-week high. In March, shares were trading as low as 20 cents, but they have more than quadrupled year-to-date and have nearly tripled in the past 12 months.
Earlier this month, shares soared after the company received clearance from the U.S. Treasury to develop its nimotuzumab drug for clinical development in any cancer indication. The drug has its origins in Cuba, which meant it previously was banned from the U.S.
Desjardins Securities analyst Maher Yaghi said the go-ahead from the U.S. will allow it to expand its research and also have better success in finding partners for the drug.
"It does broaden the molecule's interest for major pharma," Yaghi said in an interview.
He added that the embargo on Cuban products meant that even if a drug has positive trial results and works, it can't be sold in the U.S.
"But that's not a problem anymore," Yaghi said, adding the drug is still in the early stages of development.
Meanwhile, Griffin Securities analyst Chrystyna Bedrij in a note Monday reiterated her buy rating on the company and established a 12-month price target of $5, saying results from recent nimotuzumab studies show a favorable risk-benefit profile when compared with other drugs.
"We believe the implications of these findings and the related value to both cancer patients and shareholders are potentially substantial given that nimotuzumab will prospectively be an important competitor to Erbitux, whose 2008 sales were $1.5 billion, and for which Eli Lilly [& Co.] (LLY) recently acquired ImClone Systems for $6 billion," Bedrij noted.
She added 20 clinical trials around the world have been completed for nimotuzumab, and it's already approved for sale in India, China, Indonesia, the Philippines and 16 other developing countries.
That, when coupled with the recent green light by the U.S. government and other factors, makes upside for nimotuzumab and YM "exceptional," Bedrij said.