PositiveID Corp (OTCMKTS:PSID) shares were up 13.89% on Tuesday to $0.0164 and down 1.77% in after-hours trading. Share prices have been trading in a 52-week range of $0.01 to $0.20. The company has a market cap of $633,849.00 at 38.65 million shares outstanding.
PositiveID Corp is a life sciences and technology company focused on the healthcare and homeland security markets. Formerly known as VeriChip Corporation, it operates through three segments: Molecular Diagnostics, Medical Devices and Mobile Labs. The company develops molecular diagnostic systems for medical testing and bio-threat detection. In particular, its Microfluidic Bio-agent Autonomous Networked Detector system is an airborne bio-threat detection system developed for the homeland defense industry to detect biological weapons of mass destruction.
In a press release, PositiveID Corp announced that purchase orders for vehicle production and modification at its ENG Mobile Systems subsidiary in the third quarter grew 240% compared to the quarterly average in the first half of the year. ENG has built over 400 mobile labs which are designed for chemical and biological detection, monitoring and analysis. This subsidiary has been in business for almost 40 years.
ENG is a consistent, steadily growing business, which we are working to further expand, particularly in the mobile labs space where we believe we can easily differentiate ourselves from our competitors who do not offer the same level of scientific expertise and experience,” remarked William Caragol, CEO of PositiveID Corp. “The growth in purchase orders during the third quarter demonstrates that our increased focus on sales efforts is succeeding.”
In particular, ENG has seen strong growth in its mobile labs, which includes chemical, biological, nuclear, radiological and explosives testing in the field. For the first half of the year, this subsidiary of PositiveID Corp reported revenues of $3.3 million.
A quick look at the the daily chart of PositiveID Corp, however, reveals that the stock is in a steady drop, although bearish momentum has thinned in the past few months. It’s worth noting that volume has steadily grown, suggesting increased investor interest in the company and a potential bottom for the stock.
Traders had been on the lookout for a green close in the stock, with a large bullish gap expected to renew rallies for PSID shares. Keep in mind that the company was able to report revenue of $1.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2016, up from $0.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, but that this was attributable to its acquisitions of ENG and Thermomedics in December 2015.
Earlier in the month, PositiveID Corp shared highlights for the third quarter of the year, which include the company’s follow-on contract award for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security SenseNet Program Phase II. Under this contract, the company will provide its Firefly Dx system, designed to be a fully automated, lab quality, real-time device able to detect bio-threats at the point of need in minutes instead of hours.
Caragol also highlighted the company’s successful detection of the Zika virus on its Firefly Dx polymerase chain reaction breadboard prototype pathogen detection system and its plans to launch a Bluetooth version of its FDA-cleared Caregiver® infrared, non-contact thermometer by early 2017.
These developments and plans could set PositiveID Corp up for a strong finish in the year, erasing part of its declines since November last year. A pull up from the recent dive could be enough to restore investor confidence in the company and allow it to establish a solid bottom before starting a potential reversal.
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