NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Shares of Viragen Inc. rose more than 35% Monday in unusually heavy trading, and an analyst said investors who sold the stock short were covering losses.
Investors dumped shares of the Miami biotechnology company earlier this month, sending them to a 52-week low of $1.375 on June 11.
But the company has caught the attention of investors attracted by a new product and plans for a production facility in Scotland, said Andrew D.W. Hill, an analyst at Wellington Hill Financial in Naples, Fla. Hill said Viragen's Omniferon, a natural interferon drug used to treat multiple sclerosis, appears to be "a much superior product, although in its infancy."
"The stock is just ridiculously priced," Hill said. He said the stock would be fairly valued between $4 and $6 a share.
The company had no explanation for the share price increase, said spokesman Steven Sanders.
Shares of Viragen (VRGN) Monday rose 71.9 cents, or 35.4%, to $2.75 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The stock traded as high as $3.375 earlier in the day. Investors traded nearly 2.3 million shares, more than six times average daily volume.
Friday, Viragen shares gained 25 cents, or 14%, to $2.031.
Copyright (c) 1997 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
Transmitted: 6/23/97 5:32 PM EDT (L100X11L) |
