What happened
Meta Materials (MMAT 9.21%) stock crashed as much as 14% on Wednesday, the day after the company announced a new glucose monitoring prototype. The materials innovation company initially saw its stock pop yesterday on the news, however, today shares have given back all those gains and more. As of 11:45 a.m. EDT, the stock is down 10.8%.
So what
On Tuesday, Meta Materials announced the conclusion of a multi-year project to develop a non-invasive at-home glucose sensing device. The prototype enables patients to measure their glucose levels without drawing blood. According to the press release, the prototype still needs to go through studies and get regulatory approval, indicating the product is far from being commercially available. However, it is a step in the right direction for Meta Materials to get products to market.
Image source: Getty Images.
Meta Materials only started trading on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange on June 30 after a reverse merger with Torchlight Energy Resources, an oil and gas producer (it plans to divest all of its energy assets). The company raised over $250 million in the deal to go after cutting-edge materials technology. With less than $1 million in sales last quarter, the company is still in start-up mode, and it may take years before Meta Materials starts generating any profits.
Now what
With a market cap close to $1.8 billion and barely any sales, let alone profits, any shareholder of Meta Materials should expect more volatility going forward. The company has lofty goals within the materials sector, which could lead to breakthrough technology that becomes a commercial success. But as of right now, it has no proven products, making the stock a highly speculative bet for anyone thinking of buying shares.
