Wednesday’s Market Insights: DryShips Inc. (DRYS), xG Technology Inc (XGTI), Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc (INO)
DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ:DRYS) shares fell hard this morning after management announced that a reverse stock split is in the cards. Specifically, the Greece shipping company has determined to effect a 1-for-7 reverse stock split of the Company's issued common shares.
Why such indigestion toward the reverse split announcement? Typically, stocks only reverse split after they've been in a long downward spiral and they're at risk of being booted off a reputable stock exchange. With DryShips' stock trading well below $1 per share prior to the split, it was at risk of being booted off of the Nasdaq and onto an over-the-counter exchange, which likely would not have helped its valuation.
The reverse stock split will take effect, and the Company's common shares will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis on the Nasdaq Capital Market as of the opening of trading on July 21, 2017 under the existing trading symbol "DRYS". The new CUSIP number for the common shares following the reverse stock split is Y2109Q705.
When the reverse stock split becomes effective, every seven shares of the Company's issued common stock will be automatically combined into one share of common stock. As of the date of this press release, the Company had 36,296,095 common shares issued and outstanding. Effecting the reverse stock split will reduce the number of issued and outstanding common shares to approximately 5.2 million shares.
xG Technology Inc (NASDAQ:XGTI) shares rose nearly 11% in pre-market trading Wednesday, after the company announced that its Vislink business has received orders worth approximately $1 million for its HCAM HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) 4K Wireless Camera Systems for deployment in China. The orders are part of global pre-orders exceeding over $2.5 million received by Vislink for its latest wireless camera technology.
In addition, Maxim analyst Joshua Seide initiated coverage of xG Technology with a Buy rating and $4.00 price target, which implies nearly 100% upside from yesterday's closing price.
Seide said, "The recent acquisitions of Vislink and IMT position XGTI to lead the market for wireless video broadcasting systems, in our view. We expect an approximately 10-year, $2.0 billion hardware up-fit opportunity as a result of a recent spectrum auction to drive accelerated growth in 2019, and as the market share leader, XGTI is positioned to benefit." In addition, "We expect share gains in the company’s satellite communications business to be a key growth driver."
Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:INO) shares are under pressure in trading Wednesday, after the drug maker said that it intends to offer and sell $75.0 million of shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering. Inovio expects to grant the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional $11.25 million of shares of its common stock on the same terms and conditions.
Inovio anticipates using the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, including clinical trial expenses, research and development expenses, general and administrative expenses, manufacturing expenses and other business development activities.
The public offering would dilute shareholders’ investments, and as such Inovio shares are currently dropping nearly 9% to $7.11 in per-market trading. INO has a 1-year high of $11 and a 1-year low of $5.83. The stock's 50-day moving average is $7.90 and its 200-day moving average is $6.96.
On the ratings front, Inovio has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. In a report issued on July 7, H.C. Wainwright analyst Ram Selvaraju reiterated a Buy rating on INO, with a price target of $13, which implies an upside of 66% from current levels. Separately, on June 26, Stifel's Thomas Shrader reiterated a Buy rating on the stock and has a price target of $11.00.
