GW Pharmaceuticals PLC- ADR (NASDAQ:GWPH) Makes Headlines
tags: GWPH
The medical marijuana industry has been pretty hot over the last few years and if you’re a regular visitor of our website, you probably know that literally hundreds of penny stock companies have said that they are working towards treating diseases with the use of cannabis. Thousands of investors have fallen for the forward-looking statements, but unfortunately, most of the OTC companies left them bitterly disappointed. If you are one of the people who didn’t get too badly burned and if you’re still willing to invest in a medical marijuana enterprise, you’re most likely looking at the big boards. Chances are, GW Pharmaceuticals PLC- ADR (NASDAQ:GWPH) is on your radar. So, what should you know about it?
Well, first of all, you should bear in mind that GWPH is based in the UK and as you probably know, last week the UK decided to leave the European Union which had a rather profound effect on the performance of numerous stocks. GWPH was no exception. On Friday, the stock lost about 6.5% of its value and it closed the week with a price of $83.31 per share.
On Monday, however, the company issued a press release and suddenly, investors forgot about Brexit. GW Pharma announced some positive results from the trials for the treatment of Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome with GWPH‘s Epidiolex, and the stock turned green again.
The surge wasn’t quite as explosive as the one in March when Epidiolex’s trials for Dravet Syndrome treatment yielded positive results, but the ticker still managed to gain about 6% on Monday, and yesterday, after another 4% jump, it came to a close of $91.93 per share. That, in light of the whole Brexit ordeal, is not too bad.
Actually, in an interview for CNBC, Justin Gover, GWPH‘s CEO, said that his company shouldn’t be affected all that much by Britain’s decision to leave the EU. This might be considered by some investors as another reason to seriously consider putting their money on the line. But what about the negative aspects?
Well, even through the stock has more than doubled its value over the last three months and although it’s now back in the green, GWPH‘s current price is 23% below the one registered about a year ago. That’s because while the company has been focusing on testing and developing the Epidiolex, its revenues have been falling down at a rather rapid rate.
Analysts expect to see the launch of the new epilepsy treatment no sooner than the first half of 2018 which, coupled with the shrinking sales, could make for a pretty uncertain future.
