In the December 2021 quarterly rebalance Imugene will be added to the S&P/ASX 200 Index and Archer Materials added to the S&P/ASX All Technology Index.
Imugene Limited (ASX:IMU, OTC:IUGNF) and Archer Materials Ltd (ASX:AXE, OTC:ARRXF) are beneficiaries of the S&P Dow Jones Indices December 2021 quarterly rebalance of the S&P/ASX Indices.
Clinical-stage immuno-oncology company Imugene has been added to the S&P/ASX 200 Index and this will come into effect on December 20, 2021.
Also on that date, materials technology company Archer Materials will be added to the S&P/ASX All Technology Index.
S&P Dow Jones Indices is the largest global resource for essential index-based concepts, data and research, and is home to financial market indicators, such as the S&P 500® and the Dow Jones Industrial Average®.
Imugene progress
Imugene is developing a range of novel immunotherapies that seek to activate the immune system of cancer patients to treat and eradicate tumours.
It has a market cap of approximately A$2.911 billion and last traded at A$0.51. In the last 12 months, IMU has traded from A$0.095 to A$0.625, a new record high reached last month.
READ: Imugene’s current success sees analyst raise price target
The company is buoyed by a new research report from Roth Capital Partners after signing a clinical trial supply agreement with Merck KGaA and Pfizer to assess IMU’s peptide immunogen, HER-Vaxx, which has been designed to combat gastric cancers.
The company hopes to evaluate HER-Vaxx’s performance in combination with the anti-PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitor BAVENCIO, co-commercialised by Merck KGaA and Pfizer, and standard chemotherapy.
Merck KGaA and Pfizer will supply free BAVENCIO to IMU and could potentially take a greater interest in HER-Vaxx if the trial results demonstrate a clear HER-Vaxx benefit in a HER2+ gastric and gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma disease setting.
These developments led Roth Capital Partners to place a buy recommendation on IMU and to raise its price target to A$0.71 from A$0.62.
This 12-month price target is based on a discounted cash flow analysis using a 15% discount rate on all cash flows and the terminal value, which is based on multiplying the company’s 2031 projected income of approximately A$1.48 billion by six.
The figure has been arrived at by projecting future revenue from three of its products, including CHECKvacc in TNBC, HER-Vaxx in advanced HER2+ gastric cancer and PD1-Vaxx in NSCLC.
Commercial success outside these financially modelled programs would increase these projections, while risks, such as clinical, regulatory, financing or competitive failure, or high stock price volatility, might put the target in jeopardy.
The analyst has also factored in loss of key management personnel, along with any significant delay of clinical progress caused by, for example, lasting COVID-19 headwinds.
Archer’s technology focus
Archer Materials is engaged in developing and integrating materials in quantum computing, biotech, and li-ion batteries and at present is the only ASX-listed company giving investors exposure to the fast-growing world of quantum computing.
It has a market cap of approximately A$283.5 million and last traded at A$1.145. In the last 12 months, AXE has traded from A$0.515 to A$3.08, a new record high.
READ: Archer Materials develops sensing pathways to detect genetic information for biochip technology
The company has this month advanced its biochip technology a step further toward commercialisation, developing the first biochemical reactions for application in its lab-on-a-chip, proprietary technology.
The company is developing a biochip that would allow droplets of biological specimens to be processed and analysed using graphene-based sensor devices integrated in on-chip devices.
These new biochemical reactions have the potential to allow on-chip detection and quantification of specific DNA or RNA fragments relevant to viruses and bacteria.
They represent a major step toward providing potential reaction mechanisms for the biochip technology’s future operation and applications in disease detection.
READ: Archer Materials to collaborate with AIML on quantum semiconductor development
In November, Archer outlined a collaboration with the Australian Institute for Machine Learning (AIML) in work focusing on advanced materials development, device fabrication and characterisation, and the development of quantum semiconductors relevant to Archer’s 12CQ chip technology.
The collaboration is part of a non-binding MOU entered into by Archer Materials and the University of Adelaide, of which the AIML is a research institute dedicated to machine learning.
This MOU is expected to enhance the important work being carried out by Archer and AIML and comes at a key time with advanced materials, AI and quantum technologies all listed and identified as critical technologies of national interest by the Australian Government.
READ: Archer Materials flags priority offer under ChemX IPO
Archer Materials is now fully focused on its technology strategy after disposing of its mineral resources assets to NextGen Materials Ltd which has been renamed ChemX Materials Ltd and is undergoing an IPO.
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Read More: Imugene and Archer Materials benefit from S&P Dow Jones Indices rebalance