Shares of HTG Molecular Diagnostics (NASDAQ:HTGM) are one of the best that NASDAQ has to offer today, surging on a a strong preliminary revenue stats for the fourth quarter and full-year 2017 along with guidance for 2018.
For the fourth quarter, the molecular profiling-focused company said it expects revenue in the range of $6.9-$7.2 million, an improvement of nearly 400% from the year prior quarter. For all of 2017, revenue is forecast between $13.8-$14.1 million, a gain of 175% from 2016 at the high end. HTG noted higher collaboration revenue as the main driver of the solid year.
At the end of 2017, HTG had about $10.0 million in cash and cash equivalents on hand.
Little light was shed on where the bottom line landed. The Tucson, Arizona-based company only said that operating costs were up "slightly" from the third quarter on an absolute-dollar basis. Gross margin and net loss are expected to be better than the third quarter, with both benefiting from the higher revenue from collaborations.
During Q3, HTG recorded a net loss of $5.38 million, or 46 cents per share. Gross margin was $2.63 million on revenue of $3.72 million during the third quarter.
For the current year, HTG management guided revenue in the range of $20-$25 million, indicating that their strategy to develop high value diagnostic tests through our collaborations with Qiagen and top-tier biopharmaceutical companies is translating to the top line.
Despite still operating in the red, investors are apparently exalted about the momentum building behind revenue, carrying shares upwards to 47.2% to $3.37 with an hour left in the trading session. The print of $3.57 as the intraday high was the best level for HTGM shares since June 15, 2017.
According to QuoteMedia data, the stock is the third best percentage gainer amongst NASDAQ issues so far on the day.
