Last week, the stock of Advaxis, Inc. (OTC:ADXS) climbed in a few consecutive trading sessions to a new six-month high at $0.185 on the announcements about initiated research coverage on the company and about a research collaboration agreement. Friday’s session brought disappointment, however.
ADXS lost on Friday in one single session almost all the gains and closed the market at $0.159, or 10.49% down from the previous night close. There was no particular event to cause that move on the market, though looking at the reasons on which ADXS had previously gained value it is maybe not really a surprise that the share price got back down on a volume of 1.54 million shares.
Last Wednesday, Advaxis announced that an equity research company has initiated coverage for ADXS and will distribute free research reports. That was enough of information for traders to start buying intensely and to make ADXS start jumping up. Then, on Thursday Advaxis said that it has entered into a research collaboration with the laboratory of Ellen Puré, Ph.D., professor/associate vice president for Academic Affairs at The Wistar Institute. Under that agreement, the company will use Dr. Puré’s research as basis for the development of a live attenuated Listeria vaccine using ADXS Lm-LLO technology.
That could turn out to be the major step towards developing a cancer vaccine, though currently there are only uncertain future expectations. Advaxis does not have marketable products yet, the largest part of its assets are intangible and represent the costs that the company incurred to get its patents and licenses. ADXS has also convertible debts and over $5 million in working capital deficit as of end-January 2011.
This month the company filed with the SEC another amendment for a prospectus which should allow the resale of over 61 million shares of ADXS by certain of its shareholders, these shares being issuable upon exercise of warrants. Advaxis has also filed a registration statement for 25.56 million shares issuable upon exercise of warrants.
