This Biotech Stock Insider is Buying Shares, Should You?

Investors often monitor insider buying activity to assess whether company leadership has confidence in their own stock's future performance. Insider buying refers to when executives, board members, or major shareholders (those owning 10% or more of the company) purchase shares. These individuals are generally assumed to have deeper insight into the company’s operations than the average investor - so when they buy shares with their own money, it's often viewed as a bullish indicator that they expect the share price to increase.

Considering this, it's worth taking note of the massive insider buying by a relatively new board member of one biopharmaceutical company, who parted with a significant amount of money to accumulate shares. Even more notable, the penny stock has comfortably outperformed both the S&P 500 Index ($SPX) and the Nasdaq Composite ($NASX) with its breakout price action this year, and has also earned top marks from Wall Street analysts. Here's a closer look.

About Nuvation Bio Stock

Founded in 2017, New York-based Nuvation Bio (NUVB) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative therapies for patients with serious unmet medical needs. The company is primarily engaged in the research, development, and commercialization of differentiated and novel drug candidates for various therapeutic areas, targeting oncology. 

Valued at a market cap of $575.9 million, the company is a component of the small-cap benchmark Russell 2000 Index (RUT). 

On a year-to-date basis, NUVB stock has rallied 70.2%, easily outpacing the broader market. Over the last 52 weeks, the shares have more than doubled in value.

NUVB Insider Makes His First Buy

After previously serving as the former Global Head of Strategy for the Immunology and Oncology franchises at Sanofi (SNY), as well as Program Executive at Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX), industry veteran Dr. Robert Mashal was appointed to the board of directors at Nuvation Bio in January 2024. 

Earlier this month, Mashal made his first insider buy as a NUVB board member, purchasing 100,000 shares of the company at an average price of $2.20 per share. The transaction, which was carried out on Oct. 8, set Mashal back by $220,000.

Previously, June was a busy time for the company insiders, with directors Dr. Min Cui and Kim Blickenstaff collectively investing more than $2.8 million to purchase roughly 950,000 shares of NUVB at prices just below $3.00. 

Blickenstaff is the former CEO at Tandem (TNDM) with deep expertise in the diabetes care and medical device industry, while Cui - with a nearly 3% stake - is the founder and managing partner of Decheng Capital.

So, are these well-versed industry insiders onto something with their NUVB purchases? Here's what we know about the stock.

Nuvation's Strong Pipeline

Nuvation's main focus is obtaining approval for taletrectinib, a novel ROS1 inhibitor, acquired through its purchase of AnHeart Therapeutics. This marked a significant shift for the company, moving it from early-stage biotech to on the brink of submitting a New Drug Application (NDA), and placing them closer to entering the commercial phase.

Taletrectinib has shown promising results, particularly in the TRUST-II study, where high response rates were observed in patients with and without prior ROS1 inhibitor exposure. Earlier this year, findings from the TRUST-I study in China demonstrated significant tumor shrinkage.

In addition to taletrectinib, Nuvation is advancing other drugs, including safusidenib, an IDH1 inhibitor for IDH1-mutant glioma; NUV-868, a BET inhibitor targeting a protein involved in tumor growth; and NUV-1511, a drug-drug conjugate for advanced solid tumors.

A Growing Market

With various drugs under development, Nuvation remains in a solid position to cater to the burgeoning oncology market. While Precedence Research predicts that the global oncology market will touch $668.3 billion by 2034, market research firm Statista expects the U.S. oncology market alone to reach a market value of about $142 billion by 2029.

Industry experts have cited increased spending on healthcare, regulatory support, a rise in access to advanced healthcare treatments, and an aging population as catalysts that will drive the oncology market's growth. With several promising drugs in its pipeline and a market that is poised for steady growth, Nuvation looks well-positioned for growth over the long term.

Healthy Cash Reserves

Before investing, it should be taken into account that clinical stage pharma companies like Nuvation often have a long, bumpy road towards profitability, made more difficult by heavy investments in research and development. However, management seems confident that it's on a sustainable path to commercialization.

The results for the most recent quarter showed Nuvation reporting revenues of $1.43 billion, while losses widened to $1.89 per share from $0.09 per share in the year-ago period. The company's expenditure on research and development rose substantially to $454.32 million from a mere $18.6 million in the previous year, driven by clinical study expenses and the crucial AnHeart acquisition.

Overall, Nuvation closed the quarter with a healthy cash balance of $577.2 million. Management believes that its cash reserves, along with positive pivotal data from its TRUST-I and TRUST-II studies for taletrectinib, have the company on pace to potentially become a commercial stage organization in 2025. 

Analysts Say NUVB is a Strong Buy

With its healthy cash balance, strong pipeline, and a growing market to serve, analysts are bullish about NUVB along with company insiders. The five analysts in coverage have an average rating of “Strong Buy” for the stock, with a mean target price of $6.75. This denotes a meteoric upside potential of about 162.6% from current levels.

While NUVB is best suited for investors who can handle the heightened risk and volatility associated with an unprofitable biotech stock, it's certainly a penny stock worth considering for significant upside potential as insiders continue to pile in.