Here's Why Inovio Pharmaceuticals Jumped Higher Today

Shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: INO) are up 27% at 1:13 p.m. EST after Roth Capital initiated coverage of the biotech with a buy rating and a $13 price target, nearly five times higher than where it closed yesterday.

Inovio's lead compound, VGX-3100, is a vaccine designed to stimulate patients' immune systems to attack pre-cancerous lesions caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). The drug is being tested in three different types of HPV-induced lesions called high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) -- cervical, vulvar, and anal -- with cervical HSIL being furthest along and expected to read out phase 3 results in the fourth quarter of next year. Interim data from the phase 2 clinical trials in vulvar HSIL and anal HSIL will be presented earlier, in the first quarter of next year.

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Source Fool.com