Applied DNA stock slumps as fiscal 3Q revenue falls, but outlook for commercial DNA tagging seen as promising

Applied DNA Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:APDN) stock slumped on Tuesday after fiscal third-quarter revenue sank, although the company believes DNA tagging technology in commercial supply chains should boost its performance in the months ahead.

A major deal between Applied DNA and TheraCann that will enable seed-to-sale legal marijuana tracking is the industry’s first, the company stated. 

Company President and CEO James Hayward said linking digital blockchain-enabled transactions with a physical goods identifier “increases the value of the platform to global ecosystems.”

“We also reached new milestones in biotherapeutic contract research and contract manufacturing of linear DNA, with multiple firms throughout Europe and the US,” he said. “Business in our biopharma research and manufacturing offerings has been gaining promising momentum.”

New contracts were signed for those new markets, the company said.

The ability to deliver large-scale “DNA production for DNA/RNA vaccines, gene therapies, adoptive cell therapies and diagnostics, may eliminate the risks associated with current plasmid- and virus-based genetic methods,” he added.

“Applied DNA sits at the nexus between global supply chains and market forces dictating the need for increased transparency and responsible procurement,” Hayward concluded.

Revenue for the quarter dropped 43% to US$1mln, compared with US$1.8mln in revenue for the same period in 2017. Revenue for the nine months of fiscal 2018 reached US$2.7mln, down 25% from US$3.6mln in the same period the prior fiscal year.

The deferral of about US$1.2mln for the marking of cotton with extended payment terms affected revenues, the company said in a statement.

Shares were down 21.3% to US$1.18 by late in Tuesday’s session, having recovered from trading at the 52-week low of US$1.10.

Applied DNA, based in Stony Brook, New York, is a provider of molecular technologies that enable supply chain security, anti-counterfeiting and anti-theft technology, product genotyping and DNA mass production for diagnostics, personalized medicine and therapeutics.

Contact Rene Pastor at [email protected]

Story by ProactiveInvestors