The plant-based prescription medicine developer Jaguar Health (NASDAQ:JAGX) is one of the more unique biopharmaceutical companies on the market today. So JAGX stock isn’t for folks who value safety above all else, because Jaguar health isn’t your typical drugmaker.
Perhaps Jaguar Health’s most notable product is Mytesi (crofelemer), which is “the only FDA-approved diarrhea treatment for adults with HIV/AIDS.” That’s certainly intriguing, but there’s more to know about the company.
Importantly, Jaguar Health has a wholly owned subsidiary called Napo Pharmaceuticals, which itself is developing Napo EU. And as we’ll discover, Napo EU has a Covid-19 connection that JAGX stock holders will definitely want to know about.
Not only that, but there’s a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) angle to Jaguar Health. Clearly, there’s a lot to unpack here. So, we’ll start off with a glance at JAGX stock’s recent price action.
A Closer Look at JAGX Stock
Admittedly, 2020 wasn’t a banner year for JAGX stock investors. During that year, all of the bulls’ attempts to push the stock price above $1 were foiled.
Things were looking pretty bleak for JAGX shareholders when Jaguar Health received a notice from the Nasdaq Exchange on Dec. 30, 2019, that “the bid price for the Company’s common stock for the last 30 consecutive business days had closed below the minimum $1.00 per share required for continued listing under Nasdaq Listing Rule.”
Fortunately, the Nasdaq Hearings Panel granted Jaguar Health an extension through Dec. 23, 2020, in which the company could regain compliance with the bid-price requirement. Then, it wasn’t until Jan. 21 that Jaguar health received notice that it had regained bid-price-requirement compliance. By that time, JAGX stock had propelled far above the $1 level.
In fact, in late December and early January, the bulls managed to push JAGX stock to a 52-week high of $4.47. That was followed by a cooling-off period, with JAGX settling at $2.86 on Feb. 16.
The Covid-19 Connection
Whenever there’s a Covid-19 angle involved, this can get health-sector stock investors interested very quickly. Such an angle does exist with JAGX stock, although this merits explanation. After all, we’re not talking about a Covid-19 vaccine candidate here.
Mytesi is already FDA-approved in the U.S. as an anti-diarrheal drug in certain adult patients. However, it’s currently also being explored as a “proposed indication of prophylaxis and/or symptomatic relief of inflammatory diarrhea, initially to be studied in a ‘long-hauler’ COVID-19 recovery patient population in Europe.”
In regard to this, Jaguar Health reportedly plans to request meetings with the European Medicines Agency. That’s an entity which has established regulatory approval schemes for treatments related to Covid-19.
Jaguar Health founder, President and CEO Lisa Conte revealed that the company is “engaging a European regulatory firm that has experience with this conditional approval pathway in Europe.” Thus, she seems to be hinting that regulatory approval could happen sooner rather than later.
Complicated, yet Simple
Hopefully, I have provided a clear idea of Jaguar Health’s unique positioning in the biotechnology space. In brief, the company is targeting a very specific application of Mytesi, and European regulatory approval could be imminent.
In addition, there’s interest surrounding a SPAC in the works. Specifically, subsidiary Napo EU seeks to take the SPAC route to trade on the AIM Italia exchange.
The name of the shell company is Post Pandemic Recovery. That company is being brought to market by Andreea Porcelli, the founder and CEO of an invitation-only conference-hosting firm known as Swiss Growth Forum.
Complicated enough for you? The basic premise here is quite plain, however.
For simplicity’s sake, we can just call it a SPAC spin-off that’s focused on getting Mytesi approved and marketed in Europe, and perhaps elsewhere in the future.
The Bottom Line on JAGX Stock
Between the Nasdaq listing compliance concerns, the Napo EU SPAC and the Covid-19 connection, there’s a lot to unpack when it comes to Jaguar Health’s recent developments.
Overall, though, the unfolding events appear to weigh in favor of a long position in JAGX stock.
On the date of publication, David Moadel did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
David Moadel has provided compelling content – and crossed the occasional line – on behalf of Crush the Street, Market Realist, TalkMarkets, Finom Group, Benzinga, and (of course) InvestorPlace.com. He also serves as the chief analyst and market researcher for Portfolio Wealth Global and hosts the popular financial YouTube channel Looking at the Markets.
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