263% Upside Seen In Abeona Therapeutics

Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated its Buy rating and $21 price target on the shares of Abeona Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: ABEO). The catalyst being the company's announcement of licensing of a next generation gene vector delivery system along with a clinical trial-ready therapy for Batten disease.

The stock reacted with a 6.49 percent upward move and was trading at $6.16 on above-average volumes.

Elemer Piros, an analyst at the firm, noted that the company has broadened its portfolio by licensing the infantile Batten disease program from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The newly added gene therapy candidate, named ABO-202, complements ABO-201, which is intended to correct another gene responsible for the onset of juvenile Batten's. The two candidates go into clinical testing in 2017.

Cantor Fitzgerald noted that by licensing the engineered gene delivery platform, the company has gained access to a potential solution overcoming weaknesses associated with vectors derived from naturally occurring AAV vectors.

The firm also highlighted on the improvement shown by the first patient treated with ABO-102 for Sanfilippo syndrome. The firm also noted that the company disclosed on August 2 that, in the first two patients treated, ABO-102 appears safe without any untoward side effects, while also showing early signs of biopotency. The firm expects the company to communicate initial results in a cohort of three patients near term.