The Chart Woes of Sequenom, Inc. (NASDAQ:SQNM)Rage On

[[tagnumber 0]][[tagnumber 1]]When we look at what Sequenom, Inc. (NASDAQ:SQNM) has been up to recently, we can outline two distinctive trends. First, its stock has been incurring heavy losses in its market value. Second, the company‘s management seems to be actively involved in establishing new collaborations with various educational institutions all over the world. What these two trends have in common is that the latter has so far failed to offset the former.[[tagnumber 2]] [[tagnumber 0]]Yesterday, SQNM put out yet another mediocre market performance closing trade at $2.02 per share, down 1.94% from the previous session, with a total volume clocking in at less than one million. Thus, the stock remained nearly 60% away from its 52–week high of $4.80 reached in early–May and does not seem poised to regain positions any time soon.[[tagnumber 2]] [[tagnumber 0]]In an attempt to awaken investors‘ interest in SQNM, the company‘s management recently put out a corporate presentation outlining Sequenom‘s future vision and plans regarding its testing operations. Instead of getting them enthused about what lies ahead, the effort yielded no result. On the contrary, SQNM shares tumbled to a 52–week low of $1.53 on the very next day. This has led to a few analyst downgrades of the stock.[[tagnumber 2]] [[tagnumber 0]][[tagnumber 8]]Another factor that might get in the way of a possible rebound relates to what analysts expect from Sequenom in terms of its future earnings. A quick glance at the stock‘s profile page on the Nasdaq reveals projected negative earnings expected to continue till the end of 2017 at least, with a potential improvement no earlier than 2019. If this forecast is anything to go by, those who decide to go bullish on SQNM might have to wait a while before making some money.[[tagnumber 2]] [[tagnumber 0]]Yet, there are some signs suggesting there might be some light at the end of the tunnel.[[tagnumber 2]] [[tagnumber 0]]On the one hand, a private investment fund and a 10% owner increased its stake by purchasing 1.65 million shares of common SQNM stock at prices close to the $2.00 mark, thus investing approximately $3.3 million in the business. No insider sell–offs have occurred for the last three months. On a twelve–month basis, we‘ve got 10 buys vs 9 sells accounting for a solid net insider activity of 1.7 million.[[tagnumber 2]] [[tagnumber 0]]On the other hand, the short interest in SQNM is also showing slight, albeit minuscule signs of improvement. As of Sep. 30, shorters held 17.3 million of Sequenom‘s float as compared to 17.9 million two weeks earlier. Yet, the average volume for the stock jumped from 766 thousand to $1.88 million within the month of September. And the result is evident: as of Oct. 1, shorters had nine instead of twenty–three days if they were to cover their positions simultaneously in the event of a huge surge in Sequenom‘s stock value. Depending on how the market will react to both the huge insider buying mentioned above and the recently announced series of collaborations domestically and overseas, a further reduction in shorters‘ stake seems fairly likely.[[tagnumber 2]] [[tagnumber 0]]The last five months have been nowhere near Sequenom‘s best times on the chart. Since May, SQNM shares have lost 60% of their value. The hint is clear – investors are not happy with the business‘s financial performance. The newly advertised undertakings with different universities are aimed at reminding traders that Sequenom is very much alive and searching for ways to increase value. To achieve this goal, however, these initiatives will have to yield some really good results. Sooner rather than later.[[tagnumber 2]] [[tagnumber 0]] [[tagnumber 2]]