Tony, I stumbled upon what I think is the reason behind the uptick in stock price. Business Week's April 14th issue has an article titled 'Where The Bear Lurks' and it is a commentary about institutions drifting away from momentum stocks.
Here are exerpts from the article that relates to Matritech.
Only a year ago, Matritech Inc was a darling of Wall Street - a classic momentum stock. The company is developing new methods of diagnosing cancer, and over four months early last year, enthusiastic investors drove up Matritech's share price by 300%. "The stock was taking off like a rocket," says Matritech's chief executive, Stephen D. Chubb. But in recent months, the momentum has gone into reverse. Despite generally favorable news and buy recommendations from analysts, institutions have begun to drift away. Matritech shares that traded at $18 last May now change hands at about $5.......
.....Matritech and other small biotech outfits were victims of an unwinding of former "momentum" buying by institutions.......
A return to favor of the secondary stocks won't come a moment too soon for Matritech. Its market capitalization has now shrunk to $80 million, and its depressed share price has discouraged the company from trying to raise additional capital. But Chubb is hopeful that value-conscious investors will start coming his way. "My wife just joined an investment club and has been reading Peter Lynch. He just loves down markets. When stocks are depressed, it's time to buy," says Chubb. ....
*************************************************************
I think this mentioning of Matritech in Business week has investors taking a look at what the company is about. This may be the first exposure to new investors looking for promising stocks at low values. Matritech's PR department should be so lucky.
Regards,
Bob |
