The shares have already more than doubled in the past year
The shares of T2 Biosystems Inc (NASDAQ:TTOO) started the week on a high note, notching a nearly two-year high of $9.05 early Tuesday, after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the firm's bacteria detection test in human blood specimens. However, the equity ended that session lower, and before the open today was pacing for its worst week since June 2017, as traders reacted to the company's $7.50-per-share stock offering. TTOO stock is chipping away at that deficit this morning, though, up 5.5% at $7.82, thanks to a bullish analyst note.
Specifically, Leerink upgraded T2 Biosystems stock to "outperform" from "market perform," and more than doubled its price target to $12 from $5 -- territory not seen since late 2015, and more than 50% above the equity's current price. The analyst said T2's recent FDA nod "dramatically" improves the biotech's market opportunity to more than $3 billion from $1.4 billion, and waxed optimistic on the company's ability to dive into the bacterial sepsis market via emergency rooms.
Very few analysts currently follow TTOO stock. Right now, just three brokerage firms have chimed in, with two offering up "strong buy" opinions, and the other sitting on a "hold." The security's new price target from Leerink is nothing new, though. TTOO's average 12-month price target sits at $12.30.
Even with the aforementioned pullback this week, T2 Biosystems shares are still up more than 100% year-over-year. Should the stock extend its quest for new highs, a short squeeze could add fuel to the fire. Short interest currently represents nearly a week's worth of pent-up buying demand, at TTOO's average pace of trading.