What happened
Shares of Nutex Health (NUTX -2.54%) rose 17.99% on Tuesday. The company, which provides technology-driven healthcare management and operates physician networks and 21 for-profit micro-hospitals across eight states, has been on the rise since falling to $0.90 a couple of weeks ago.
So what
Nutex just went public in April via a reverse merger. The company has said it plans to open 20 more micro-hospitals in the next two years while expanding into Florida, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Idaho.
Nutex sees an opportunity with too many patients in the United States and not enough available healthcare providers, locating its micro-hospitals in areas where the need is greatest. Tuesday's rise wasn't preceded by any company announcements, but with a market cap of $1.449 billion and a relatively low share price (it closed Tuesday at $2.23 a share, putting it up more than 210% over the past month), it doesn't take much of a bump for the stock to become volatile. It could be something as simple as a buyout rumor or a short squeeze.
Now what
Investors are waiting to see progress from the company, particularly in light of its expansion plans. Through the first nine months of 2022, it reported revenue of $165.6 million, down from $268.1 million in the same period last year. The company, through nine months, has lost $420.4 million, or an earnings per share (EPS) loss of $0.67, compared to positive net income of $118.6 in the first nine months of 2021 and EPS of $0.20.
