As of 1:16 p.m. EST on Tuesday, December 19, shares of Aratana Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PETX) are down 1.79%. The company has a market capitalization of $236.07 million.
This is not overly surprising considering the Leawood, Kansas-based company also dropped in price on Friday after announcing to the public that its latest treatment for dogs failed its effectiveness study. As a result, from the time the stock market closed on Friday, December 15 to Monday, December 18’s opening, Aratana Therapeutics stock plummeted 12%.
Not only that, on November 28, shares of the company fell a whopping 14% after disclosing a secondary common stock offering. Aratana Therapeutics disclosed that it is looking to sell $35 million of its common stock in a secondary offering. And while the company has the potential to raise more than $40 million if all goes as planned with the secondary offering, the timing of the deal left a number of investors scratching their heads. Why? Because shares of Aratana have moved sideways since the start of 2017.
On Friday, December 15, the commercial stage biotech, which focuses primarily on pet health, stated that its license partner would be looking into advancing the study results before deciding whether or not they should proceed with commercialization.
While Aratana’s latest treatment for dogs failed, it is important to remember that it is not the only drug up their sleeve. In fact, the company has six other drugs in testing and Aratana is hoping to eventually extend its local anesthetic that will help deal with postoperative pain in cats.
Additionally, Aratana Therapeutics is looking to test a treatment that is targeted at dealing with weight loss in cats suffering from chronic kidney disease. Last but not least, the company has another drug up their sleeve: a cancer immunotherapy candidate that is awaiting approval from the United States Department of Agriculture.
While it seems the company has a number of positive things lined up for them, the stock has continued to fall, therefore it is important investors don’t get too excited about the company’s forthcoming treatments as the stock market seems to have a different opinion on the company entirely.
Featured Image: twitter
