ALX Oncology shares jump 9% after Jefferies upgrade

ALX Oncology Holdings Inc. shares
ALXO,
+35.68%
climbed 9% premarket on Friday after Jefferies analysts upgraded the stock to buy, from hold. The stock is “very cheap,” the analysts wrote, given that the company is set to have results from three promising phase 2 trials in 2024. The company is studying an investigational therapy in combination with Merck & Co. Inc.’s
MRK,
-0.89%
Keytruda for treatment of advanced head and neck squamous cell cancer. ALX shares surged more than 80% in October when the company released data from a phase 2 trial of a combination therapy for gastric cancer, and more data from that trial is expected in the second quarter of next year, the analysts noted. “Our call is investors will begin to revisit this story and see the big upside potential” in 2024, the analysts wrote. The analysts set an $18 price target for the shares, up from $8.00 previously. ALX shares are down 18% in the year to date, while the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.01%
has climbed 19%.