As we continue to witness the spread of viruses and diseases within our country, politicians, the CDC and biotech companies have been receiving more news coverage as Americans continue to worry about their health and the potential for a national outbreak. The most news worthy disease right now, which has unfortunately spread to the U.S., is the Ebola virus. This year we have witnessed the largest and highest death toll relating to the Ebola virus and the news of residents in Dallas coming down with the virus and potentially infecting other people has certainly sent the government scrambling.
Additionally, there has been another viral outbreak that is hitting young children the worst,Enterovirus 68. Enterovirus 68 is a respiratory disease that continues to spread across the U.S., affecting children suffering from asthma particularly hard. These diseases along with entering flu season are further reasons that biotech companies could become good investments as corporate players and the government try to create solutions to deadly problems facing our country. One such biotech company that has been in the news recently is iBio, Inc. (NYSE: IBIO). iBio focuses on plant-based protein expressions to create vaccines and treatments for such diseases as the H1N1 influenza virus (or swine flu) and H5N1 influenza virus.
Turning to the fundamentals, iBio has a market cap of $58 million and is rated a "Buy" by analysts. The company is still in the development stage and has yet to turn a profit or reach a forecast of profitability. Price to sales is overvalued at 290, price to book is again overvalued at 7.82, and price to cash is a high at 13.50. The company has no debt holdings and cash per share of .06, giving the company a solid current ratio of 4.60.
Earnings are expected to rise 7.10 percent this year and quarter-over-quarter earnings have risen 50 percent, but sales have fallen 66.80 percent. Insiders believe in their business, which can be determined with an insider ownership of 45.02 percent, while institutional buyers have a micro position of ownership at 2 percent. In the wake of the news and spreading of viruses this year, the stock has had a stellar performance: up 100 percent in the past year and up 153 percent year-to-date.
At the end of August, iBio received great news from European regulators which helped continue the price uptrend. The biotech company received "notices of intention to grant" two European patents for its plant protein expression technology. This will give the company an edge over potential competition in the space. Overall, iBio certainly has an interesting business model and, with a price target of $3.00 and a current price of 86 cents, analysts believe there is a lot of upside potential in the stock.
Be sure to do your own research before investing.