Cocrystal stock pulls back sharply after stock offering priced to the public at a deep discount

Shares of Cocrystal Pharma Inc.
COCP,
-32.24%
plunged 28.3% in active premarket trading, after the biotechnology company announced a $40 million common stock offering. The company announced the offering Tuesday’s closing bell, after the stock rocketed 72.6% on Tuesday after the announcement that “progress” was made in the development of the company’s antiviral drug candidates targeting coronaviruses including those that cause COVID-19. Cocrystal said underwriter H.C. Wainwright & Co. has agreed to buy 26.0 million shares of its common stock, which represents about 36% of the shares outstanding, at a price to the public of $1.54 a share, which is 28% below Tuesday’s closing price of $2.14. Cocrystal said it plans to use the proceeds from the offering to expand its COVID-19 and influenza treatment development programs. The stock has rallied 57.4% year to date through Tuesday, while the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF
IBB,
+0.65%
has slipped 0.8% and the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.30%
has gained 10.9%.