- SIGA Technologies (NASDAQ:SIGA) the stock is attracting investor interest because of its smallpox drug
- Smallpox is closely related to monkeypox
- Dozens of monkeypox cases have been located in at least 12 countries
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SIGA Technologies (NASDAQ:SIGA) The stock is again in focus today after President Joe Biden expressed concern over the weekend about a virus called monkeypox, which is closely related to smallpox. SIGA Technologies has developed a drug, Tpoxx, which has been approved in the United States, Canada and Europe for the treatment of smallpox. In Europe, regulators have also approved the drug as a treatment for monkeypox.
Yesterday Biden said ‘everyone should be concerned’ about monkeypox. However, today he noted that smallpox vaccines can be used to prevent the disease, while the US government has enough smallpox vaccines to deal with the problem.
SIGA shares plunge despite investor interest
Authorities have already confirmed two cases of monkeypox in the United States, and authorities in Florida have located a “presumptive” case in the state. Globally, as of Saturday, “more than 80 cases of monkeypox were confirmed in at least 12 countries,” the World Health Organization reported.
By mid-morning, SIGA stock fell 4% to $11.90. However, more than 49 million shares of the name had already changed hands today, compared to an average daily volume of just over 2 million. And shares are up 60% in the past five days, nearly 72% in the past month and 95% in the past three months.
As of the date of publication, Larry Ramer did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any position in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, subject to InvestorPlace.com publishing guidelines.
