Shares of Jaguar Health Inc., a developer of herbal medicines for humans and animals, rose more than 40% in high volumes on Tuesday, extending their recent strong gains and stock was on track to their highest level since mid-2019.
There was no news that the stock propelled JAGX,
higher, but Jaguar has been up steadily since it announced a licensing deal with Canada-based specialty pharmaceutical company Knight Therapeutics Inc. in December. GUD,
in which Jaguar could receive up to $ 18 million in milestone payments.
The stock last traded at $ 2.55, up more than 200% in the year to date. At the end of December, it was still below $ 1. By noon, 209 million shares had changed hands, or about five times the 65-day average of 39 million.
San Francisco-based Jaguar received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2012 for its Mytesi therapy, a treatment for non-infectious diarrhea in adults with HIV / AIDS with antiretroviral therapy.
The company is now working on other indications for the therapy, including diarrhea related to targeted cancer therapy; orphan drug indications for infants and children with congenital diarrheal disorders and short bowel syndrome; supportive care for inflammatory bowel disease; irritable bowel syndrome; and for idiopathic / functional diarrhea. In addition, according to its website, a second generation anti-secretion agent is being developed for cholera.
There are currently no research analysts on FactSet covering the stock, although Dawson James Securities has it covered until April 2020.
In early December, the company said it had been granted a grace period by Nasdaq until March 10, 2021 to get its stock price back in accordance with listing rules, which require it to trade above $ 1 for more than 10 consecutive trading days.
In November, the company posted a net loss of $ 8.27 million, or 21 cents a share, for the third quarter, after a loss of $ 11.7 million, or $ 2.00 a share, a year earlier.
Sales were $ 2.8 million, compared to $ 973,000 a year ago.
Jaguar has a wholly owned subsidiary called Napo Pharmaceuticals, which develops products for international markets with plants grown in tropical forests.