Sparkles and biopharma
Diamonds and biopharma appeared to be investors' best friends on Thursday and there was plenty of news to mull over.
Junior miner Lucara Diamond (TSE:LUC) rose over 27% after it was celebrating the discovery of the second biggest diamond ever.
The 1,111 carat "boulder) was unearthed from its Karowe mine in Botswana and is the largest stone found in more than a century.
Meanwhile, Nasdaq listed Kalobios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KBIO) soared sevenfold as it unveiled plans to wind down its operations after yesterday it said an investor group that included Martin Shkreli had acquired more than 50% of the company’s stock.
The California-based company said it is in discussions with Mr. Shkreli regarding possible direction for the company to continue in operation.
Shkreli is the founder and chief executive officer of Turing Pharmaceuticals, a privately held biopharmaceutical company.
KaloBios had previously announced that it would undertake a wind-down of the business and shares surged 423% to $10.83 at 12:10 p.m. in New York after skyrocketing to $14.72 earlier in the day.
Elsewhere, VolitionRx (NYSE:VNRX) also rose 7.7% after the clinical-stage life sciences company reported more high cancer detection rates from its NuQ blood tests, this time in a study of lung cancer sufferers.
Tech IPOs
The high value tech IPOs today were much flagged, not least as Square Inc (NYSE:SQ) and Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) are coming to the markets at a volatile time for offerings.
Square, the mobile payments company, raised about a third less than planned in its initial public offering. The company and an existing shareholder raised $243mln, selling 27mln shares for $9 each, after offering them for $11 to $13 apiece. But on the first day of trading, shares of Square rose 45% to $13.05.
Meanwhile Match, the online-dating platform whose services include Tinder and OKCupid, also raised less than it wanted in an IPO on Wednesday but shares were all over the place debuting today, surging 15% at one point from its list price of $12. It now at $13.88 a share.
Winners and losers
Lightlake Therapeutics (OTCMKTS:LLTP) surged 54% to $9.65 after the early-stage biopharmaceutical company said the FDA approved NARCAN Nasal Spray for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose.
DARA Biosciences (NASDAQ:DARA) gained 4.5% to $0.920 as its new owner -- London listed Midatech (LON:MPTH) -- is set to make acqusition in the cancer space for up to $5mln
AmpliPhi Biosciences (NYSEMKT:APHB) fell 0.9% to $5.60. The developer of bacteriophage-based antibacterial therapies entered into a clinical trial research agreement with the University of Adelaide for the purpose of conducting a Phase I clinical study.