Pacific Edge Limited [NZX:PEB] has enjoyed a dream run in trading today, emerging as the star performer on the New Zealand Stock Exchange.
Pacific Edge — established in 2001 — is a cancer-diagnostics company founded in Dunedin. They specialise in genetic-biomarker testing known as CxBladder. This process is non-invasive and able to detect the presence of cancerous cells in urine.
Pacific Edge’s share price is currently $0.23, and it has a market capitalisation of $93.79 million.
Why has the [NZX: PEB] share price surged today?
Pacific Edge made an announcement today that sparked much excitement:
- It is partnering with US healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente.
- The goal is to roll out commercial use of its patented CxBladder tests.
- Kaiser Permanente patients will be able to provide a urine sample for delivery to Pacific Edge for analysis and reporting.
- The ability for non-invasive, regular testing will benefit both patients and physicians in the long-run.
Pacific Edge CEO David Darling has remarked:
‘We are delighted to be working with Kaiser Permanente to implement the delivery of CxBladder into their patient care program for urology. This outcome highlights Kaiser Permanente’s recognised position as an industry leader in their approach to high-quality healthcare, innovation and value-based medicine.’
Naturally enough, news of this partnership has buoyed investor sentiment. Today’s buy-in for Pacific Edge stocks has been rapid and enthusiastic.
Where could [NZX:PEB] go from here?
While there’s much positivity for Pacific Edge’s long-term prospects in the American market, some caution is needed as well.
According to Simply Wall St:
- Pacific Edge has a price-to-book ratio of 6.2x, which is higher than the 3.3x average usually seen in the biotech industry.
- It has a return on equity of –130.21%, which indicates that the company has a history of being unprofitable.
- In addition, the company has reported an after-tax net loss of $18.9 million for the year ended March 31.
This makes Pacific Edge a speculative investment with a potentially volatile share price. The future horizon is attractive — but can the company’s fundamentals support that wide-eyed optimism?
Discerning investors should approach this stock with caution.
Regards,
John Ling,
Contributor, Wealth Morning
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