ATOS Stock: What's Happening?

ATOS stock is a name that we covered on and off since 2017. Except for a few price spikes, ATOS stock has been mostly on a steady downtrend. The last time we covered Atossa was March of last year when the FDA has issued a “Safe to Proceed” letter under their “expanded access” program permitting the use of Atossa’s oral Endoxifen as a post-mastectomy treatment in a pre-menopausal, estrogen-receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer patients. The news sent the shorts scrambling and the stock climbed to almost $8. ATOS StockThis year, it's been more of a steady climb off the lows for ATOS stock. This comes as the company has pivoted to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, we take a look at what's happening with ATOS stock and why we believe shares remain undervalued.

ATOS Stock

First up, here's a little background info for those not familiar with ATOS stock. Atossa Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company seeking to discover and develop innovative medicines in areas of significant unmet medical need with a current focus on breast cancer and COVID-19.[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eikfArKjQ50&feature=emb_title[/embed]

ATOS Stock Nasal Spray

Yesterday, ATOS stock announced that the first cohort of eight healthy volunteers in its Phase 1 study of AT-301, a nasal spray being developed for the potential treatment of COVID-19, has been enrolled and dosed.

The primary objective of the 32-subject trial is assessing the safety and tolerability of single and multiple doses of AT-301. The company plans to position the product for newly diagnosed COVID-19 patients who are not exhibiting severe enough symptoms to require hospitalization. Steven Quay, M.D., Ph.D., Atossa’s President, and CEO said:

“Advancing our COVID-19 drug candidates through clinical studies as quickly as possible is our highest priority. We are very encouraged by the high level of interest in this study and the speed at which we enrolled this first group of participants. Our novel nasal spray drug candidate is being developed to provide a unique protective mucosal barrier with anti-viral properties within the nasal cavity, hopefully leading to lower infectivity and reduced symptoms in COVID-19 patients. If this can slow virus proliferation sufficiently to allow the patient to mount a strong, natural immune response AT-301 could significantly impact the current public health options for controlling COVID-19. We look forward to quickly completing enrollment of all cohorts in this potentially important study.”

It also plans to explore its use to proactively reduce COVID-19 symptoms and to slow the infection rate.

ATOS Stock Reaction

Unfortunately, the news failed to move ATOS stock. Volume was weak as just 748k shares changed hands. The lack of a market reaction has frustrated the bulls, but there are still catalysts coming that can get ATOS stock moving. These include:

• Receive regulatory approvals to initiate a Phase 2 study in Stockholm, Sweden using Atossa’s Endoxifen to reduce mammographic breast density (MBD).
• Commence enrollment in the Phase 2 study in Stockholm to treat MBD.
• Receive regulatory approval to initiate a clinical study of AT-H201.
• Commence enrollment in the clinical study of AT-H201.
• News on the AT-301 Phase 1 study in Australia.

What's Next?

Bulls are going to have to be a bit more patient with ATOS stock. The good news is that it won't take much to get the stock running. Its current market cap is just $31 million and the company has almost $12 million in cash on hand. Dilution is not a concern.ATOS has a history of price spikes. While the stock has made a nice run off the $.75 lows in March, ATOS stock remains well below the highs of the last few years. We can easily see ATOS back up near the $10 level where it traded in 2018. News from the AT-301 Phase 1 study can certainly get ATOS back to $10. It's not a matter of if, but when.As always, good luck to all (except the shorts)!

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Disclosure: We have no position in NASDAQ:ATOS or any of the securities mentioned. We wrote this article ourselves and it expresses our own opinions. We are not receiving compensation for it. We have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Insider Financial is not an investment advisor and does not provide investment advice. Always do your own research and make your own investment decisions. This article is not a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell, or hold securities. This article is meant for informational and educational purposes only and does not provide investment advice.Image by Cindy Lever from Pixabay