What happened
Shares of Aldeyra Therapeutics (ALDX -2.12%) were jumping 8.5% higher as of 11:01 a.m. EST on Thursday after soaring as much as 15.3% earlier in the day. The gain came after the company announced the pricing of a public stock offering. Aldeyra plans to sell more than 6.8 million shares at a price of $9.50 per share.
So what
Don't biotech stocks usually fall after announcements of secondary stock offerings? Yes. Investors typically aren't happy campers knowing that more shares on the market will dilute the value of their existing shares. However, sometimes shares of biotechs with dilution-causing stock offerings on the way move higher, just as we're seeing with Aldeyra today.
The most likely reason behind Aldeyra's jump is that investors remain really confident about the company's long-term prospects. Aldeyra's stock offering will raise gross proceeds of around $65 million. The biotech intends to use the money generated in large part to fund development of its lead pipeline candidate, reproxalap.
Image source: Getty Images.
Investors' confidence is understandable. Last week, Aldeyra reported positive results from a run-in cohort of a late-stage study of reproxalap in treating dry eye disease. This run-in cohort included participants receiving treatment before the main cohort of Aldeyra's late-stage study begins enrollment.
Although there are approved products on the market already for the indication, patients often discontinue usage of the products because they take too long to address symptoms. Reproxalap shows promise in addressing the issues of these current therapies.
Now what
The main thing to watch with Aldeyra now is its pipeline progress. The company expects to report results from the main cohort of its late-stage study of reproxalap in the second half of this year. Aldeyra also plans to kick off a second late-stage study in the first quarter of 2021.
