The Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU) share price hit an all-time high of 41 cents in intraday trade today, but with no news from the company since Tuesday, some market watchers are wondering why.
At the time of writing, the Imugene share price has retreated slightly, however, are still up 6.85%. Shares in the immuno-oncology company are swapping hands for 39 cents apiece.
The last time we heard from Imugene, it announced it had entered into a global patient license for a novel cancer therapy.
The following day (AEST), Imugene shared to its website that United States-based investment banking firm ROTH Capital Partners had given its shares a 12-month price target of 42 cents.
Since then, the Imugene share price has gained 16.67%
Let's take a closer look at the news that's seemingly driving shares in Imugene.
Imugene's good news day
On Tuesday, Imugene announced it had entered into an agreement with City of Hope, an independent cancer research and treatment centre, to license the patient for its CD19 therapy.
The technology under the license is an extension of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell cancer therapy. Currently, CAR T cell therapy can only be used to treat blood or liquid-based cancers. City of Hope's technology has the potential to treat solid cancers.
Imugene's first clinical trial of CD19 is planned to begin in 2022.
As a result of the news, ROTH Capital upgraded its guidance for Imugene shares to 42 cents yesterday.
ROTH Capital's price target was based on a number of factors, including the projected future revenue of Imugene's CHECKvacc, HER-Vaxx, and PD1-Vaxx.
The banking firm expects these products will bring in a combined $1.7 billion in royalties by the 2031 financial year.
Imugene share price snapshot
On Tuesday, the day Imugene's latest news broke, the company's share price finished flat with its previous close.
Then, after ROTH Capital's analysis yesterday it shot up to close 10.61% higher. It's gained another 6.8% today.
The company's share price gains this week add to what has been a fantastic performance on the ASX recently.
Currently, the Imugene share price is 285% higher than it was at the start of 2021. It's also gained 1,183% since this time last year when its shares were trading for 3 cents.
The company has a market capitalisation of around $1.7 billion, with approximately 4.7 billion shares outstanding.
