Low-float stocks can do strange and unexpected things sometimes. That’s as valid an explanation as any for the unusual price movement in OncoSec Medical (NASDAQ:ONCS) stock today. As soon as trading commenced on Wall Street, social media commentators struggled to figure out what was happening. So, let’s see if we can get to the bottom of this.
First things first: What does OncoSec Medical do? This tiny biotechnology company is based in New Jersey and develops immunotherapies designed to “stimulate the patient’s own immune system to target and eradicate cancer.”
OncoSec’s primary investigational product is tavokinogene telseplasmid, also called TAVO. It enables the delivery of a DNA-encoded, naturally occurring human protein to help the body’s immune system attack tumors.
There don’t seem to be any major company-specific press releases concerning OncoSec Medical. On Nov. 15, the company did announce encouraging results for TAVO combined with nivolumab as a potential treatment for neoadjuvant melanoma. However, this is old news in the fast-moving world of biotech small caps.
What’s Happening With ONCS Stock?
To get a better handle on what’s happening with ONCS stock, I turned my attention to StockTwits and browsed through the posted messages. It didn’t take long to find pump-and-dump chatter and talk about trading halts.
Of course, these types of postings should always be taken with a grain of salt. It is notable, however, that ONCS stock ran up from $3.48 to as high as $5.75 on Monday — a 65% single-session move.
If that pump wasn’t justified by any company-specific news, then it’s possible that there’s some profit-taking happening today. Shares climbed further this morning, but by 11:30 a.m. Eastern, they were down more than 6%.
By the way, OncoSec Medical did enact a 1-for-22 reverse share split on Nov. 9. The market has had plenty of time to digest that news, however.
Amazingly, 13.7 million OncoSec shares have traded hands today as of this writing. The typical daily average is around 37,000 shares. At the end of the day, this is really just another example of how volatile a low-float stock can be — and perhaps a reason to be cautious now with ONCS stock.
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On the date of publication, David Moadel did not hold (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.
