Ocugen, Inc. (OCGN) was up another 60% in aftermarket trading on Friday after the company announced it had signed definitive agreements for the sale of an aggregate of 3,000,000 shares of common stock to healthcare-focused institutional investors. The shares were offered in a registered direct offering at $7.65 per share. The offering will close on or about February 10, 2021, pending the satisfaction of the usual closing conditions. The exclusive placement agent for the issuer is H.C. Wainwright & Co.
Before deducting placement agent’s fees and other offering expenses Ocugen will receive approximately $23 million in gross proceeds. Ocugen intends to use its net proceeds from the offering to fund working capital, capital expenditures, and its general and administrative expenses.
OCGN is already up 200% over week
The stock skyrocketed around 200% last week after the biopharmaceutical firm struck a deal to develop a promising coronavirus vaccine candidate to be used in the United States. The deal prompted Roth Capital analyst ZegbehJallah to raise the firm’s price target on Ocugen from $1 to $8. Based on the research note, Jallah explains that the terms of the deal are favorable, including no upfront payment so that the company can start off with a positive cash flow.
What Was Behind The Happy Weekend
On Friday, Ocugen shares rose 61.5%, following another upbeat analyst note.
SwayampakulaRamakanth of H.C. Wainwright increased his rating for Ocugen’s stock to buy from neutral on Thursday and forecasted a $4.50 target price for the stock. Ramakanth supported the recent deal between Ocugen and India’s Bharat Biotech, which could potentially deliver Covaxin, a candidate vaccine for COVID-19, to the U.S. market.
Ramakanth suggests Covaxin could induce a greater level of immunity and better protection against new strains of coronavirus than the COVID-19 vaccine that has been given an emergency use authorization in the U.S. He also emphasized the logistical advantages of covaxin’s less onerous storage requirements, thereby enhancing its competitive edge.
