Why Endocyte Shares Soared

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Endocyte , a biopharmaceutical company developing treatments for oncological and inflammatory diseases, jumped as much as 10% after receiving an analyst upgrade.

So what: Endocyte shares rallied by double digits after brokerage firm R.W. Baird upped its rating on the company to "outperform" from "neutral" and boosted its price target to $13 from $9. Specific to the upgrade, Baird noted that Endocyte's primary early-stage pipeline is further along than it had previously thought and figures it could boast some promising drug candidates.

Now what: I've said it before and I'll say it again -- don't get caught up in the hoopla often involved with one-day price swings caused by analyst upgrades and downgrades, as they rarely have any bearing on your long-term investing thesis. As for Endocyte, a lot of its true success is riding on the outcome of a late-stage trial in the U.S. and a European Medicines Agency decision on Vintafolide for ovarian cancer. The drug is actually licensed to Merck , but the royalties could go a long way to establishing Endocyte as a reputable -- and potentially profitable -- biopharmaceutical company.

Craving more input? Start by adding Endocyte to your free and personalized watchlist so you can keep up on the latest news with the company.

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The article Why Endocyte Shares Soared originally appeared on Fool.com.

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