Acasti Pharma to investors: We're not planning a capital raise

Acasti Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:ACST) (CVE:ACST) stock is on the rise, but it isn’t because a capital raise is in the works.

The biopharmaceutical company refuted the notion Thursday that any corporate developments were behind a recent uptick in both share price and trading volume.

Since July 17, its share price has jumped from US$1.37 to as high as $2.44, and its average trading volume is up to nearly 6 million compared to its three month average of 1.1 million.

One reason for the recent surge could be a series of analyst notes published in July. On July 18, Oppenheimer initiated coverage of the stock with a $7 price target, per StreetInsider, and analyst Gene Katx upped his price target to $11.06 on July 23.

READ: Two prominent research firms initiate coverage on Acasti Pharma with Buy rating

One possible draw for investors is its omega-3 drug candidate CaPre, which is currently undergoing Phase 3 clinical trials. The Laval, Quebec-based company expects to reports from its TRILOGY 1 trial in December 2019 and its TRILOGY 2 trial in January 2020.

In a statement, Acasti reiterated that the company has enough funding to complete the trials of the drug. Of March 31, the company had $34.4 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities on hand.

CaPre is designed to treat hypertriglyceridemia, a condition characterized by elevated triglyceride levels in the blood. Acasti plans to submit a New Drug Application to the US Food and Drug Administration in mid-2020.

Investors gave back some of Acasti’s gains on Thursday, dropping the share price 9.8% to C$2.76 in Toronto and 10% to $2.10 on OTC Markets.

Contact Andrew Kessel at [email protected]

Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel

Story by ProactiveInvestors