What happened
Shares of Orchestra BioMed Holdings (OBIO -1.13%) were up more than 16% as of 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, as investors piled in on what looked like a bargain after the healthcare stock hit a low the day before. The company forms collaborations with leading medical device companies to drive global commercialization of products it develops. Its largest collaboration is with Medtronic to develop and commercialize the BackBeat CNT for the treatment of hypertension in pacemaker-indicated patients.
So what
So far this year, Orchestra stock is down more than 23%. The company bounced back after hitting its all-time low of $6.30 a share on Tuesday. It went public in January as part of a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger. It should also get a boost as it just joined the Russell 3000 index, the small-cap Russell 2000 index, and the Russell Microcap index on Monday. The reason the stock could benefit from the move is it is now more likely to be bought by funds that use the indexes.
Now what
Orchestra is a very new company, having formed in 2017, so volatility in the stock is part of the deal. While it has potential for long-term investors, there's plenty of risk connected with the company.
In the first quarter, the company reported it had $127.1 million in cash, enough, it said, to fund operations into 2026. Orchestra's first-quarter revenue was $1.2 million, up 33% year over year. It also lost $0.40 in earnings per share (EPS), compared to $0.62 in EPS in the same period last year.
Its BackBeat CNT product has shown potential in early trials to treat hypertension and the company expects to start a pivotal trial for the device later this year.
