Teachings from AEterna Zentaris Inc. (NASDAQ:AEZS)’s rally

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AEterna Zentaris Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on endocrine therapy and oncology. Its lead endocrinology program is a Phase 3 trial in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with cetrorelix, an LHRH antagonist already marketed for in vitro fertilization under the brand name Cetrotide. The lead oncology program is a Phase 2 trial in endometrial and ovarian cancer with AEZS-108, a targeted cytotoxic peptide conjugate. Other lead compounds include ozarelix for BPH and prostate cancer as well as perifosine for multiple cancers.

Aeterna Zentaris Inc. (NASDAQ:AEZS) has been in the news for all the right reasons. Recently, Aeterna Zentaris Inc. (NASDAQ:AEZS) announced that

The Exponential Moving Average (EMA) is similar to a simple moving average (average price over a set period) but it utilizes a weighting factor that exponentially declines from the most recent data point (recent prices are weighted higher than oid prices). EMA analysis compares the short term (5 days and 13 days), intermediate term (20 days) and long term (50 days) EMA’s. The respective EMA’s will give bullish signals when trading above trailing EMA’s and below the current price and vice versa. EMA alerts include crossovers (i.e the 5 day EMA crosses above/below the 20 day EMA) and EMA convergencies (5 day EMA equivalent to 13 day EMA). The long term and short term EMA’s of 3.15 and 3.02 are lower than the current trading price suggesting a bullish pattern in both short term as well as long term. .

The relative strength index (RSI) is a momentum oscillator that is able to measure the velocity and magnitude of stock price changes. Momentum is calculated as the ratio of positive price changes to negative price changes. The RSI analysis compares the current RSI against neutral(50), oversold (30) and overbought (70) conditions. Alerts will inform you when stocks recede from oversold/overbought levels or breakthrough neutral (50). The current RSI is 65.95 suggesting a bullish price action.

The Barchart Technical Opinion rating is a 100% Sell with a Strongest short term outlook on maintaining the current direction. Longer term, the trend strength is in the Top 1%. Long term indicators fully support a continuation of the trend.

Aeterna Zentaris Inc. (NASDAQ:AEZS) is all set to announce its earnings on Mar 15/a. As per Zack’s analyst ratings, Aeterna Zentaris Inc. (NASDAQ:AEZS) currently has an average brokerage rating of 1. On a scale of 1 to 5, a rating of 1 or 2 would indicate a buy, and a rating of 4 or 5 would signify a sell recommendation. A rating of 3 would indicate a hold on the stock. The consensus target price on (NASDAQ:AEZS) is $9.25 with a high of $11 and a low of $7.5.

Aeterna Zentaris today announced that the ZoptEC Phase 3 clinical study of Zoptrex(TM) (zoptarelin doxorubicin) in women with locally advanced, recurrent or metastatic endometrial cancer did not achieve its primary endpoint of demonstrating a statistically significant increase in the median period of overall survival of patients treated with Zoptrex(TM) as compared to patients treated with doxorubicin.

As such, while we believe Aeterna Zentaris Inc. (NASDAQ:AEZS) represents a compelling growth story exposed to several secularly attractive markets, it would be interesting to see how it fairs for long-term investors.