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Why Shares of Energous Corp. Tumbled Today

By Timothy Green – Jan 12, 2018 at 5:46PM

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Taking advantage of a spike in its stock price, the power-at-a-distance company plans to sell additional shares.

What happened

Shares of Energous Corp. (WATT 0.29%) slumped on Friday after the company disclosed in a filing with the SEC that it entered into an agreement to sell as much $40 million of common stock. This news comes a few weeks after the stock spiked following the FCC's certification of the company's WattUp Mid Field transmitter. Energous stock was down 13.6% as of 3:45 p.m. EST.

So what

Energous has entered into an agreement with the company Raymond James, through which it will sell up to $40 million of common stock. Raymond James will receive a 2.5% commission on the gross proceeds. This sale will dilute the positions of existing investors.

A laptop with a WattUp near-field transmitter.

Image source: Energous Corp.

On Dec. 26, Energous announced that the FCC had certified its WattUp Mid Field transmitter, the first such certification for a power-at-a-distance wireless charging transmitter. Energous began shipping chips through partner Dialog Semiconductor in limited quantities during the fourth quarter of 2017, but these shipments were not recognized as revenue.

Energous expects to report just $0.03 million of revenue for the fourth quarter, along with GAAP operating expenses between $11.2 million and $11.5 million. The company had $12.8 million of cash and cash equivalents at the end of 2017, a number that will be boosted when the company sells additional shares.

Now what

Energous expects to recognize "modest levels" of chip revenue in the first quarter of 2018. End-products using the company's near-field technology should be available to consumers during the first half of the year, while products using its mid-field technology should be available in the second half. However, Energous "expects that its chip revenue will remain at modest levels through the third quarter of 2018, with opportunities for growth thereafter."

Timothy Green has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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