SRNE Stock Price: Sorrento Therapeutics Inc. plummets after FDA pivots to plasma to treat COVID-19

It has been a steady decline for NASDAQ:SRNE since shares briefly neared the 52-week highs just two weeks ago. Sorrento’s stock is now down nearly 60% since the August 10th peak of $18.82 per share – bringing the price down below its 50-day moving average. While shares of Sorrento are still up over 350% over the past year, these high levels of volatility have come with the territory of being one of the players involved in the great race known as Operation Warp Speed. 

On Sunday, the U.S. FDA announced that it would be granting Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for convalescent plasma to treat coronavirus patients in America. While this should not be looked at as a defeat for Sorrento, it does show the first signs of the FDA shifting its focus away from traditional pharmaceutical vaccines. The Financial Times also reported that the Trump Administration is leaning towards choosing U.K. biotech firm AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) to supply its COVID-19 vaccine to American citizens this fall. Neither of these news pieces are good news for Sorrento or any other biotech company involved in the race for the coronavirus vaccine. Industry rivals Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), and Inovio (NASDAQ:INO) were all down as well to start the week. 

SRNE Stock Forecast

Recent Wall Street analyst reports are favorable for Sorrento despite its current downward trajectory. H.C. Wainwright has issued a buy rating and a target price of $30 while Dawson James also rated the firm a buy with a target price of $24. Either outlook provides plenty of growth for SRNE although both reports came before the FDA’s announcement over the weekend.