Aptose Shoots Up As Investors Focus On Reversible BTK Inhibitors

I’ve written before that I consider Aptose Biosciences (APTO) to be a “speculation worth considering” on the strength of its two-drug pipeline for hematology, and between Merck’s (MRK) $2.7 billion bid for ArQule (ARQL) and encouraging early-stage data for the second-gen BTK inhibitor class at this past weekend’s ASH meeting, Aptose shares are having a great Monday – up about 30% as of this writing.

Is Monday’s move fair? As far as a one-day move after the ASH meeting and Merck’s bid, I would say it is probably an overreaction. Then again, this is a sparsely-followed early-stage biotech that I thought was trading meaningfully below its fair value (even incorporating the elevated risks), so more attention on the pipeline and some increased scarcity value for it should drive some upside. Even with this move, though, I still believe the shares trade at enough of a discount to fair value to be worth a look for investors who can take on the well-above average risks and odds of failure.

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Aptose Shoots Up As Investors Focus On Reversible BTK Inhibitors