A mystery on Wall Street that has seemingly sprung up with no warning signs has message boards buzzing today. Nanomedicine developer and producer NanoViricides (NYSEMKT:NNVC) has experienced significant trading volume today, so much so that NNVC stock is ranking highly on Yahoo Finance’s trending tickers.
What’s Happening With NNVC Stock
As of this writing, NNVC stock is up more than 60% on astronomical volume. However, for much of the morning, actual trading was halted due to what the New York Stock Exchange lists as “news pending.”
So what exactly is going on? NanoViricides did not directly release any information this morning, especially not at the time the halt was first issued. In fact, the last news NanoViricides released came last week when the company announced that it had “completed the process of licensing the human Coronavirus field for drug development and commercialization from TheraCour Pharma.”
That news sent NNVC stock shooting up by more than 18% at the time.
So while NanoViricides may not have made a release, it seems that another publisher did. In an exclusive report on Benzinga, writer Vandana Singh shared that preclinical studies of a Covid-19 treatment from NanoViricides showed great benefit. The treatment in question is NV-CoV-2-R, which takes the existing NV-CoV-2 treatment from NanoViricides and encapsulates remdesivir in it. For investors unfamiliar, remdesivir is a key Covid-19 treatment from Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD). According to the Benzinga piece, this NV-CoV-2-R greatly increases the amount of remdesivir absorbed into the body.
Hours after the halt, NanoViricides acknowledged what happened. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said that the article came about as an issue with its public relations team. However, NanoViricides said the information seemed “reasonably accurate” and that the company would follow up on or before Sept. 28 with an official release.
Why It Matters
NanoViricides has had an interesting year. It began 2021 with consistent, well-highlighted announcements on the company website regarding the progress of its Covid-19 treatments.
According to the site, “a nanoviricide is designed to specifically attack enveloped virus particles,” enabling them to fight viral infections in ways that go beyond the capabilities of antibodies and immunotherapeutic treatments.
In the months since, though, while little update came from NanoViricides, some of its competitors made significant progress in getting their drugs to market. Alongside Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), companies like Regeneron (NASDAQ:REGN) have gained regulatory approvals.
What’s Next for NNVC Stock
For a company that just endured a media relations crisis that hit Wall Street with no warning, NanoViricides has enjoyed an impressive day of gains since trading resumed. As of this writing, despite some slight downticks, the stock is still up more than 60% for the day.
Despite the somewhat unorthodox way in which this morning’s news was handled, these developments should be considered good news for investors who hold NNVC stock. The results broken by Benzinga are promising and if they are any indication, the company is on its way to getting an effective Covid-19 treatment to market. That has yielded impressive gains for other companies and it seems as though NanoViricides may have an edge in its product.
NNVC stock is certainly worth watching as the company progresses, hopefully with better-coordinated media releases.
On the date of publication, Samuel O’Brient did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
