When Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) rose nearly 10% after-hours following a deal to supply its vaccine to the U.S., the rally faded the next day. Conversely, Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) resumed its uptrend when it won a 60 million unit dose supply deal with the U.K. Where do smaller firms like Sorrento (NASDAQ:SRNE) and Inovio (NASDAQ:INO) stand, if investors prefer the larger capitalization firms?
Inovio has a DNA-based vaccine. The bad news is that it only earned an Orphan drug designation. It did not sign any supply deal like the bigger players. For example, Moderna, J&J, and BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) had conversations with the European Union last month. Until Inovio gets a deal, its stock will slump.
A short seller’s attack on Sorrento clouds the firm’s value. The media previously quoted the company in claiming it had a cure back in May. In reality, Sorrento is no further ahead than its competition. Now, SRNE stock faces heavy selling pressure after peaking at $19.39 briefly.
Trading volume is drying up fast. This suggests the speculators left. Fundamentals for Sorrento are getting better. On July 29, the company signed a licensing deal with Columbia University for the rights of its one-step diagnostic test.
Supplying a test that detects COVID-19 in just 30 minutes is critical. The U.S. needs such a test, not one that takes nearly two weeks to complete.
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