Shares in stem cell specialist ReNeuron (RENE) fell sharply this summer as sentiment towards biotech stocks plummeted amid pricing scandals and doubts over the sustainability of sky-high valuations. But chief financial officer Michael Hunt says "nothing has changed" as the company pursues its varied clinical programme. This includes a high-profile study in the US trialling a new progenitor cell therapy for retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic condition which causes retinal degeneration and eventual blindness.
Mr Hunt nonetheless claims the group "got its timing right" when it tapped shareholders for a further £70m in July to help fund the ongoing clinical trials. That cash should see the company through a number of important clinical milestones, including the release of second-phase data for a stem cell therapy drug for motor disability as a result of stroke. That data should hit the market during the first half of the 2016 calendar year, as should data from an initial trial for another stem cell therapy designed to treat critical limb ischaemia (a severe obstruction of the arteries that reduces blood flow to the hands, feet and legs).
Analysts at Cenkos expect losses of £15.6m for the year ending March 2016, giving losses per share of 0.6p, compared with losses of £8.9m and 0.5p per share in FY2015.
| RENEURON (RENE) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 2.75p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 87m | |
| TOUCH: | 2.5-3p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 6.4p | LOW: 2.8p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 2.3p | NET CASH: | £72m | |
| Half-year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 11.0 | -4.9 | -0.2 | nil |
| 2015 | 11.0 | -5.2 | -0.2 | nil |
| % change | - | +8 | - | - |
Ex-div: na Payment: na | ||||
