Author Bio
Keith began writing for the Fool in 2012 and focuses primarily on healthcare investing topics. His background includes serving in management and consulting for the healthcare technology, health insurance, medical device, and pharmacy benefits management industries.
Follow @keithspeights
What happened
Shares of
Ziopharm Oncology (NASDAQ:ZIOP) had sank 10.2% as of 11:26 a.m. EST on Friday. The drop came after
Jefferies downgraded the stock from buy to hold and lowered its one-year price target to $5.
So what
There s both good news and bad news with this latest downgrade. Jefferies analyst Chris Howerton isn t as optimistic about Ziopharm s near-term prospects as he s been in the past. But he still sees at least some upward potential for the biotech stock. His price target reflects a 14% premium over its current share price.
Author Bio
Keith began writing for the Fool in 2012 and focuses primarily on healthcare investing topics. His background includes serving in management and consulting for the healthcare technology, health insurance, medical device, and pharmacy benefits management industries.
Follow @keithspeights
What happened
Shares of
Ziopharm Oncology (NASDAQ:ZIOP) were jumping 10.8% higher as of 11:55 a.m. EST on Friday. The solid gain came after the company provided its fourth-quarter update following the market close on Thursday.
Ziopharm announced a net loss in the fourth quarter of $22.8 million, or $0.11 per share. There were two bigger stories, though. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave a green light for Ziopharm to begin testing its experimental T cell receptor-engineered T cell (TCR-T) therapies in phase 1/2 clinical studies. Also, Laurence Cooper is stepping down as CEO with board member Heidi Hagen taking his place as interim CEO.