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Key Points

Parabilis and another recent IPO stock each raised more than Moderna -- which had previously been the biggest biotech IPO. Parabilis’ technology could be a game changer and potentially used across treatment areas.These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires ›

This year is turning out to be a massive one for initial public offerings, with Cerebras Systems delivering the biggest so far and SpaceX on track to launch the largest ever. On top of that, Anthropic and OpenAI recently filed confidentially with regulators, suggesting they may make market debuts soon.

That activity has been in the technology sector, but another area that's looking hot is the industry of biotech. Kailera Therapeutics got the ball rolling in April, with a biotech IPO that topped the biggest one to date -- that of Moderna, which raised a record $604 million in 2018. And just this week, Parabilis Medicines (NASDAQ: PBLS) topped them all, raising $670 million. And on the stock's first day of trading, it soared 58% to close at a little over $31.

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Investors are clearly excited about this biotech company exploring an innovative way to fight cancer and potentially other diseases. Now the question is: After this explosive IPO, is it too late to buy the stock?

Image source: Getty Images.

Taking on "undruggable" targets

First, let's start out by taking a closer look at Parabilis. The company launched in 2015, built on many years of research out of Greg Verdine's Harvard University lab. He was a co-founder and chief executive officer in the company's earliest days. Verdine's team found a way to target what previously was thought to be "undruggable" -- these are certain proteins that are inside cells and lack the concave surfaces that allow drugs to bind and take action.

Verdine's team created a new drug type, forming peptides into an alpha-helix so that they could enter cells, bind to flat surfaces, and work to fight disease. And so was born the company's Helicon platform.

Today, Mathai Mammen, former global head of research and development at Johnson & Johnson, is CEO of Parabilis -- at the pharma giant, he led his team to the approvals of nine medicines across oncology, immunology, and neuroscience. So Mammen has what it takes to lead Parabilis through the current and next stages of clinical development and into commercialization.

"Promising" results in patients

The biotech's lead candidate, zolucatetide, is set to begin a phase 3 study in desmoid tumors, noncancerous growths that have limited treatment options, in the first half of next year. Parabilis has studied zolucatetide in more than 150 patients so far and delivered "promising" data in a range of tumor types, the company wrote in its prospectus.

Zolucatetide is involved in four phase 1 studies, including hepatocellular carcinoma and colorectal cancer. And the biotech is also developing candidates in preclinical studies and aims to expand this technology into other therapeutic areas beyond oncology in the future.

Parabilis says that Helicons are the only modality out there right now that allows for the entering of cells and the binding to flat surfaces. This ability to make "undruggable" targets "druggable" could be big, particularly if it may be extended across many treatment areas. About 80% of validated disease targets are undruggable today, according to Parabilis.

Parabilis' deepening loss

Now, let's consider the recent IPO and the company's financial picture. Proceeds from the offering will go toward funding zolucatetide's phase 3 study, as well as earlier studies in other indications and earlier-stage research. The company's loss has progressively deepened, to $145 million last year, as R&D costs advanced to $125 million. This isn't surprising for a biotech company at this stage. But these losses and need for ongoing spending to support its programs make Parabilis -- and other biotechs at this moment in their growth stories -- risky investments.

So, considering all of this and the recent double-digit gain on IPO day, is it too late to get in on Parabilis? This biotech offers interesting -- and potentially game-changing -- technology, but it may take several years for this, if successful, to translate into revenue. So, regardless of the stock price, Parabilis isn't the best choice for cautious investors.

If you're an aggressive investor, however, and you're looking for a biotech that potentially may be a big winner down the road -- and you have the patience to buy and hold for several years, Parabilis may be right for you. That said, there's no need to rush in immediately after this spectacular IPO gain. Instead, you're better off waiting for an opportunity to buy on the dip.

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Adria Cimino has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Moderna. The Motley Fool recommends Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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[Wooden blocks with the word IPO and virtual stock graph. Initial Public Offering or stock launch concept.] fadfebrian

Parabilis Medicines (PBLS [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/PBLS]) climbed more than 45% in its first trading session on Wednesday after the cancer drug developer backed by a recent research deal with Regeneron (REGN [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/REGN]) made its public debut following a record-setting IPO among biotechs. [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4602043-parabilis-medicines-prices-upsized-ipo-at-20-per-share]

The company priced the upsized offering of roughly 33.3M shares at $20 each late Tuesday, valuing it at $2.4B and expecting $670M in gross proceeds, excluding roughly $75M sought from a concurrent private placement to Regeneron (REGN [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/REGN]).

The offering surpassed Moderna’s (MRNA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MRNA]) then-record $604M IPO haul in 2018 and $625M generated by obesity drug developer Kailera Therapeutics (KLRA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/KLRA]) from its market debut in April.

Shares of the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company opened at $33.35 at about 12:40 pm ET, indicating roughly a 67% gain from the IPO price before reaching $28.81 at about 1:00 pm ET, implying nearly a 44% rise.

Founded in July 2015 as FOG Pharmaceuticals, Parabilis (PBLS [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/PBLS]) is a clinical-stage developer of a peptide-based treatment class called "Helicons.”

Its Helicon drug discovery platform is based on technology licensed from serial biotech entrepreneur Gregory Verdine, whose early research paved the way for Revolution Medicines’ (RVMD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/RVMD]) breakthrough pancreatic cancer therapy, daraxonrasib.

MORE ON REGENERON PHARMACEUTICALS, PARABILIS MEDICINES, INC.

* Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (REGN) Presents at Goldman Sachs 47th Annual Global Healthcare Conference 2026 Transcript [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4913022-regeneron-pharmaceuticals-inc-regn-presents-at-goldman-sachs-47th-annual-global-healthcare]
* Regeneron: 'Buy' Revenue Growth And Two Extensive Drug Development Opportunities [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4912777-regeneron-buy-revenue-growth-and-two-extensive-drug-development-opportunities]
* Parabilis Medicines Starts IPO On Promising Cancer Therapy Trials [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4908000-parabilis-medicines-starts-ipo-on-promising-cancer-therapy-trials]
* Parabilis Medicines prices upsized IPO at $20 per share [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4602043-parabilis-medicines-prices-upsized-ipo-at-20-per-share]
* Parabilis upsizes IPO seeking to raise more than $600M [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4601898-parabilis-upsizes-ipo-seeking-raise-more-than-600m]

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Merck's MRK stock climbed above its 50-day SMA from early June after trading below it for most of May. However, the stock has consistently been trading above its 200-day SMA since October 2025, which suggests that the stock is in a long-term uptrend. The stock's recent return to above the 50-day SMA mark signals improving intermediate-term momentum.Zacks Investment Research

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Ideally, stocks that regain their 50-day SMA while already holding above the 200-day SMA are often viewed as having a favorable risk-reward profile because the long-term trend never broke down.

However, to make a proper investment decision, one should properly assess a company's strengths and weaknesses. Let's break down.

Keytruda: Merck's Biggest Strength

Merck boasts more than six blockbuster drugs in its portfolio, with Keytruda being the key top-line driver. Keytruda, approved for several types of cancer, alone accounts for around 55% of the company's pharmaceutical sales. Keytruda now holds 44 FDA-approved indications spanning 19 tumor types, along with two tumor-agnostic approvals.

The drug has played an instrumental role in driving Merck's steady revenue growth over the past few years. Keytruda recorded sales of $8.0 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up 8% year over year.

Keytruda sales are gaining from continued strong momentum in metastatic indications and rapid uptake across earlier-stage launches. The company expects the growth to continue till it loses patent exclusivity in 2028.

Merck is working on different strategies to drive Keytruda's long-term growth. These include innovative immuno-oncology combinations, including Keytruda with LAG3 and CTLA-4 inhibitors. In partnership with Moderna MRNA, Merck is developing a personalized mRNA therapeutic cancer vaccine called intismeran autogene (V940/mRNA-4157) in combination with Keytruda in pivotal phase III studies for earlier-stage and adjuvant NSCLC and adjuvant melanoma.

Merck expects Keytruda to achieve peak sales of $35 billion by 2028. Merck's other oncology drugs, Welireg, AstraZeneca AZN-partnered Lynparza and Eisai-partnered Lenvima, are also contributing to top-line growth.

Merck's Animal Health business is also a key contributor to its top-line growth, with sales expected to more than double by mid-2030s.

MRK's Pipeline Progress & Recent M&A Spree

Merck's expanding drug pipeline and potential new blockbuster drugs beyond Keytruda look encouraging.

Its phase III pipeline has almost tripled since 2021, supported by in-house pipeline progress as well as the addition of candidates through M&A deals. Merck expects to launch 20 new drugs by 2030, with many already launched.

Story Continues

Its new products, pulmonary arterial hypertension drug, Winrevair, cancer drug, Welireg and 21-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, Capvaxive, have begun to contribute significantly to top-line growth.

Merck's RSV antibody, Enflonsia (clesrovimab), was approved in the United States in June 2025 and in the EU in April 2026. A once-daily, single-tablet two-drug regimen of doravirine and islatravir, Idvynso, was approved in the United States for virologically suppressed HIV-1 in April 2026.

The company has other promising candidates in its late-stage pipeline, such as enlicitide decanoate/MK-0616, an oral PCSK9 inhibitor for hypercholesterolemia, tulisokibart, a TL1A inhibitor for ulcerative colitis and Daiichi-Sankyo-partnered antibody-drug conjugates.

Merck has been on an acquisition spree in the past year, as it faces the looming patent expiration of Keytruda in 2028. The acquisition of Verona in 2025 added Ohtuvayre, a novel, first-in-class maintenance treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, with multibillion-dollar commercial potential. Ohtuvayre's commercial launch is off to a solid start.

In January 2026, Merck acquired Cidara Therapeutics, which added its lead pipeline candidate, MK-1406 (formerly CD388), a first-in-class long-acting, strain-agnostic antiviral agent, currently being evaluated in late-stage studies for the prevention of seasonal influenza in individuals at higher risk of complications.

In April 2026, it acquired California-based cancer biotech, Terns Pharmaceuticals, which added Terns' lead chronic myeloid leukemia candidate, TERN-701, a novel oral allosteric inhibitor of the BCR::ABL oncogene, to Merck's hematology/cancer pipeline. Merk believes TERN-701 has multibillion-dollar commercial potential.

Declining Sales of MRK's Gardasil & Other Vaccines

Sales of Merck's second-largest product, its HPV vaccine, Gardasil, plunged 22% to $1.07 billion in the first quarter due to continued weak sales performance in China. Sales of Gardasil are declining in China due to weak demand trends amid an economic slowdown. The company is also seeing lower demand for the vaccine in Japan. Gardasil sales are not expected to improve in 2026.

Sales of some other Merck vaccines, like Proquad, M-M-R II, Varivax, Rotateq and Vaxneuvance, also declined in the first quarter.

MRK's Keytruda Faces Patent Expiration in 2028

Merck is heavily reliant on Keytruda. Though Keytruda may be Merck's biggest strength and a solid reason to own the stock, the company is excessively dependent on the drug. Keytruda's core U.S. patent is expected to expire around 2028, with additional patents expiring slightly after that. Keytruda is expected to face significant biosimilar competition around 2028-2029. Once biosimilars enter, Keytruda's sales are likely to decline sharply.

Also, competitive pressure might increase for Keytruda in the near future from dual PD-1/VEGF inhibitors that inhibit both the PD-1 pathway and the VEGF pathway at once. They are designed to overcome the limitations of single-target therapies like Keytruda.

MRK's Generic Headwinds in 2026

MRK is seeing declining demand for its diabetes products (Januvia/Janumet) and the generic erosion of some drugs like Isentress/Isentress HD and Bridion in the European Union and Dificid in the United States. Bridion is expected to lose patent exclusivity in the United States in July 2026, and sales are expected to significantly decline thereafter. Sales of Januvia/Janumet are expected to decline steeply from 2026 onward due to government price setting, an anticipated patent expiry in 2026 and ongoing competitive pressure.

In 2026, Merck expects generic competition for Januvia/Janumet, Bridion and Dificid to hurt revenues by approximately $2.5 billion.

MRK Share Price, Valuation & Estimates

Merck's shares have risen 13.6% so far this year compared with an increase of 3.9% for the industry. The stock has also outperformed the sector as well as the S&P 500 index, as seen in the chart below.

Merck Stock Outperforms Industry, Sector & S&P 500Zacks Investment Research

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, Merck looks reasonably priced. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company's shares currently trade at 16.54 forward earnings, slightly lower than 17.59 for the industry. However, the stock is trading above its 5-year mean of 12.76.

MRK Stock ValuationZacks Investment Research

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Estimates for MRK's 2026 earnings have risen from $5.14 to $5.17 per share over the past 60 days, while those for 2027 have declined from $9.87 per share to $9.85 per share.

MRK Estimate MovementZacks Investment Research

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Stay Invested in MRK Stock

Merck has one of the world's best-selling drugs in its portfolio, generating billions of dollars in revenues. Though Keytruda will lose patent exclusivity in 2028, its sales are expected to remain strong until then.

Merck expects over $70 billion of potential non-risk-adjusted commercial opportunity for the current pipeline by the mid-2030s. This estimate is more than double the peak consensus sales estimate for Keytruda of $35 billion in 2028. Merck said that the estimate of $70 billion was $20 billion higher than what they expected just one year ago.

The new products and strong progress in its pipeline have increased confidence that Merck may be able to maintain growth even after Keytruda loses exclusivity.

However, Merck faces several near-term challenges, including persistent challenges for Gardasil in China, potential competition for Keytruda, and rising competitive and generic pressure on some of its drugs.

Long-term investors may continue retaining this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock and see how the company manages its future product and pipeline growth and replaces Keytruda revenues. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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In den letzten Tagen haben Moderna und Merck fünfjährige Phase-2b-Daten vorgestellt, die zeigen, dass ihr personalisierter mRNA-Melanomavakzinintismeran autogene, kombiniert mit Keytruda, das Risiko von Krebsrezidiv, Metastasen und Tod gegenüber Keytruda allein erheblich reduziert. Gleichzeitig sicherte sich Moderna bis zu 50 Millionen US-Dollar an Finanzierung von CEPI für ihr Bundibugyo-Ebolavirus-mRNA-Vakzine-Kandidat, was unterstreicht, wie seine Plattform auf beide Onkologie und neuartige Infektionskrankheiten über Covid hinaus angewendet wird.

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Die Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA) hat einen vier Tage anhaltenden Verlust gestoppt und ist am Mittwoch um 7,49 % auf 49,06 $ gestiegen. Die Investoren haben sich auf die Teilnahme der Firma an der Konferenz von Goldman Sachs vorbereitet. Moderna wird am 9. Juni an der 47. jährlichen Global Healthcare Conference teilnehmen und über den Fortschritt ihrer Pipeline informieren.

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Der CEO von SpaceX und Tesla, Elon Musk, glaubt, dass die Biotechnologie bald so fortschrittlich sein wird, dass man Medikamente wie Apps programmieren kann. Er vergleicht den aktuellen Stand der Medizin mit dem früheren Zustand, in dem man Medikamente zufällig entdeckte. Derzeit können Wissenschaftler RNA-Moleküle synthetisieren, die spezifische Funktionen ausführen, wie das Produzieren von Proteinen oder das Stilllegen von schädlichen Genen. Dieser Fortschritt könnte zu einer digitalen Zukunft der Medizin führen.

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Die Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated VRTX-Aktie ist im letzten Quartal um 7,9% gefallen. Ein Hauptgrund für die Schwäche war das leicht gedämpfte Ergebnis des ersten Quartals 2026.

Das erste Quartaleinnahmen lagen weitgehend im Einklang mit den Erwartungen der Analysten, Alyftrek übertraf sogar die Schätzungen, während Trikafta, Casgevy und Journavx alle unterlagen. Die Verkäufe ihrer neuen nicht-CF-Produkte, Journavx und Casgevy, waren schwächer als erwartet. Diese beiden neuen Medikamente sind für Vertex' langfristige Wachstumsantrieb in Bereichen außerhalb der Zystennierkrankung (CF) von Bedeutung.

Casgevys Verkaufszahlen im ersten Quartal waren aufgrund einer sequenziellen Variabilität niedriger als erwartet. Journavxs erste Quartalsverkäufe wurden durch Kanal-Entladung beeinträchtigt. Die 2026er-Prognose für die Gesamteinnahmen wurde bestätigt.

Vertex' aktuelle Kursentwicklung hat Investoren dazu gebracht, sich zu fragen, ob sie jetzt verkauft werden oder ein bisschen länger halten sollten, während das Unternehmen starke Fundament und eine fast Monopolartike-Position im CF-Markt genießt. Lassen Sie uns die Stärken und Schwächen des Unternehmens besser verstehen, um VRTX-Aktie gegen diesen Hintergrund besser zu analysieren.

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KEYTRUDA ist ein Immuntherapeutikum, das zur Behandlung verschiedener Krebsarten eingesetzt wird. Es kann jedoch auch schwerwiegende Nebenwirkungen haben. Die häufigsten Nebenwirkungen von KEYTRUDA sind Müdigkeit, Fieber, Hautausschlag und Durchfall. In einigen Fällen können schwere Nebenwirkungen wie Pneumonie, Nierenversagen oder Herzinfarkt auftreten. Es ist wichtig, dass Patienten regelmäßig überprüft werden, um mögliche Nebenwirkungen frühzeitig zu erkennen und zu behandeln. KEYTRUDA wird für verschiedene Krebsarten eingesetzt, darunter Lungenkrebs, Bauchspeicheldrüsenkrebs, Blasenkrebs und andere. Es ist wichtig, dass Patienten ihre Behandlung sorgfältig planen und regelmäßig überprüfen lassen, um die Wirksamkeit der Behandlung zu maximieren und mögliche Nebenwirkungen zu minimieren.

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Investing.com -- J.P. Morgan hat die Abdeckung von 14 großen Biotechnologieunternehmen wieder aufgenommen, wobei der Sektor ein wichtiger Wendepunkt erreicht habe, da Erfolge in den Pipelines zunehmend zu profitablen und diversifizierten Geschäftsunternehmen führen.

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Gilead Sciences (GILD) mehr als verdreifachte Q1 2026 freie Cash-Flow, HIV-Franchise wuchs um 10% und Biktarvy-Patent-Schutz wurde bis April 2036 verlängert. Moderna (MRNA) stieg um 63% höher im Jahr, aber erlebt einen 40%igen Umsatz-Kollaps in 2025 und verbrennt Cash nach einem $1,34 Milliarden Q1 GAAP-Nettoverlust.