Why Sorrento Therapeutics' Shares Tumbled 23.4% in September

Shares of Sorrento Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SRNE), a biotech company that specializes in oncology and pain therapies, dropped 23.4% in September, according to data from S&P Global Intelligence. The stock closed at $2.05 on Aug. 31 then fell to a low of $1.52 on Sept. 29. The stock is down more than 65% so far this year and has a 52-week low of $1.15 and a 52-week high of $7.40.

Sorrento, popular with retail investors, has been struggling financially. Through six months, the biotech company reported that while revenue was up 7% year over year to $29.7 million, the company had a net-income loss of $260 million through six months, compared to a loss of $164.2 million in the same period last year and a $0.70 loss in earnings per share (EPS), compared to a $0.58 EPS loss in the first six months a year ago. The sluggish financials are made worse by the market's decline, particularly in the case of growth companies that haven't shown much growth but have a high debt-to-equities ratio, like Sorrento, which has a long-term debt-to-equity ratio of 62.92. The other concern is Sorrento has only $70.3 million in cash as of June 30.

Sorrento has a handful of marketed products led by ZTlido, a topical system of the painkiller lidocaine, Gloperba for gout, and a COVID-19 rapid antigen test that's been approved in Mexico and Brazil.

Continue reading


Source Fool.com