Last week its shares rose 107%.
Shares in stem cell research company Pluristem Therapeutics Ltd. (Nasdaq:PSTI; DAX: PJT) fell 11.4% to $4.25, after reaching as high as $4.93 in Nasdaq trade yesterday, after the company announced the successful completion of a further preclinical trial - this time on an animal model for multiple sclerosis. The company currently has a market cap of $30 million.
Trading in Pluristem's share has been quite volatile recently after a long period during which it was relatively inactive. The share rose 107% last week after the company announced the successful completion of animal trials of its Placental Expanded (PLX) cells for the treatment of Ischemic Stroke. The share subsequently lost 37% but yesterday's early gains lifted it back to its recent high, before falling by the close.
Pluristem's share has been traded at higher levels since the start of 2008 but it has fallen along with most other Nasdaq-listed stocks, especially small risky ones, through no fault of its own. Most analysts covering the pharmaceuticals sector attribute value to a drug or medical treatment once it begins Phase II efficacy trials and, on the odd occasion, as early as Phase I safety trials. Products that reach the animal testing stage have a one in a thousand chance of reaching the market, so it is therefore risky to take such trials into account in when valuing the company, regardless of the outcome. Why Pluristem's share showed such volatility following the announcement of its successful animal trials is unclear.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 16, 2008
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2008