What happened
Shares of Atomera (ATOM 1.24%) jumped as much as 23% after the company announced that a customer was making progress on a joint development agreement (JDA). As of 12:30 p.m. EST, the stock had given back much of those gains and was up just 5% as the broader market pulled back and tech stocks remain weak today.
So what
Atomera, which specializes in developing and licensing technology for the semiconductor industry, said that a JDA customer had entered into the fourth phase of the engagement process. There are a total of six phases, and the end result is the commercialization of wafers that utilize Atomera's Mears Silicon Technology (MST), which bolsters performance and power efficiency of transistors.
Image source: Getty Images.
The company didn't specify which customer had entered the fourth phase, but noted that it has now delivered the MST intellectual property (IP) transfer package to the customer pursuant to the JDA contract.
Now what
Atomera has been making ongoing progress in inking new JDAs with customers, including another deal with a "leading semiconductor provider" back in early January. The company says that it currently has 25 engagements in its customer pipeline, of which nine are in the first phase, 15 are in the third phase, and one is in the fourth phase.
The progress is encouraging, as Atomera didn't generate any revenue in the fourth quarter. The company also raised $25 million in January through an at-the-market (ATM) equity offering to strengthen its balance sheet as it marches toward commercialization of its technology.
