OncoSec Medical Inc(OTCMKTS:ONCS) Leaps Forward And Recovers Lost Positions
Yesterday OncoSec Medical Inc(OTCMKTS:ONCS) surged high in the charts. ONCS gained nearly 16% on a volume of 4.2 million shares and a dollar value of $2.48 million, and closed at $0.60.
What could have triggered such an immense positive interest after a four-session drop, which cost the stock a little over 11%? Well, the answer is simple – PR hype. Yesterday the company issued a press release announcing that ONCS and the University of California, San Francisco, will work together towards a common goal. The company and the University will strive for a successful evaluation of the “investigational combination of ImmunoPulse and Anti-PD-1 treatment“. Punit Dhillon, ONCS‘s President and CEO, shared his excitement regarding the collaboration and disclosed that he looks forward to “sharing the results from this clinical trial in the future.” The planned Phase II clinical trial will be sponsored by the University and its principal investigator, Dr. Alain Algazi. It will be “conducted as a multicenter Investigator Sponsored Trial“, and patient enrollment is expected to begin “in Q1 2015.”
Even though it is entirely possible that the PR is the sole cause for the re-sparked interest in the stock, there is another plausible reason for it. Yesterday’s positive session that countered the four negative ones could very well be attributed to two specific promotional emails pumping ONCS. Both email alerts were sent before yesterday’s opening bell by Stockpalooza.com, which received $10 thousand as compensation for each email. Could this be just the beginning of a paid promotional campaign? As of now, there are no more emails received, and only time will tell whether this will turn into an extensive pump campaign, or not.
Prior to yesterday’s release ONCS made several important announcements via PRs. On Nov 20, the company disclosed that it has entered a Sponsored Research Agreement with the University of Washington, and on Nov 18 it announced a collaboration with Plexxikon Inc. Then on Nov 13, ONCS shared news that the company will be attending the 2014 Stifel Healthcare Conference, where Punit Dhillon will be presenting on behalf of the company. ONCS also disclosed that the company has received two important research grants. On Nov 10 a PR stated that $585 thousand were given to the company by the Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corporation, and on Oct 27 $163 thousand were provided to ONCS as part of the Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant. It should be noted that the Phase I SBIR grant could bring up to $1 million additional funding, depending on how Phase I trials go.
Potential investors should do their own due diligence and take into account all the risks before deciding whether or not to put any money on the line.
