Why Sangamo Therapeutics Stock Is Soaring

Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. SGMO shares are trading higher Tuesday after the company announced it has entered into a license agreement with Genentech to develop intravenously administered genomic medicines for neurodegenerative diseases. 

The Details:

Sangamo has granted Genentech an exclusive license to its proprietary zinc finger repressors and neurotropic adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid, STAC-BBB. Under the terms of the agreement, Genentech is expected to pay Sangamo $50 million in near-term upfront license fees and milestone payments. Sangamo is eligible to earn up to $1.9 billion in development and commercial milestones spread across multiple potential products under the agreement and tiered royalties on net sales of such products. 

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"Sangamo has been pioneering the field of genomic medicine for years to address devastating neurodegenerative diseases with limited current treatment options,” said Sandy Macrae, CEO of Sangamo. “We are excited to share this powerful combination with Genentech to advance potential treatment options for devastating neurodegenerative disorders, and we are hopeful this could be the first of multiple capsid collaborations to come with other partners.” 

How To Buy SGMO Stock:

By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for Sangamo Therapeutics – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.

Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy ‘fractional shares,' which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share. For example, some stock like Berkshire Hathaway, can cost thousands of dollars to own just one share. However, if you only want to invest a fraction of that, brokerages will allow you to do so.

In the the case of Sangamo Therapeutics, which is trading at $1.19 as of publishing time, $100 would buy you 84.03 shares of stock.

If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to ‘go short' a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.

SGMO Price Action: According to Benzinga Pro, Sangamo Therapeutics shares are up 59% at $1.22 at the time of publication Tuesday.

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