VXRT - Vaxart stock slips more than 8% as Q3 expenses jump cash position deteriorates

Shares of micro-cap U.S. vaccine maker Vaxart ( NASDAQ: VXRT ) had fallen 8.6% to $1.27 in late afternoon trading on Wednesday, after its quarterly operating expenses soared and its cash balance narrowed.

The company after hours on Tuesday posted Q3 GAAP EPS of -$0.23 which beat estimates by $0.01 . It did not report any revenue for the quarter.

VXRT stock has been on a terrible run, having posted a seven-day losing streak in yesterday's session.

VXRT initially opened higher and climbed as much as 14% in the first hour of trading, as investors appeared to buy into the beaten down stock. But the shares lost steam soon after and by mid-morning had slipped into the red.

VXRT's total operating expenses in Q3 rose ~69% Y/Y to $29.4M, mainly driven by a more than 80% Y/Y jump in R&D expenses.

South San Francisco, Calif.-based Vaxart ( VXRT ) is developing vaccines for COVID-19, norovirus, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and human papillomavirus.

The company is currently conducting a two-part phase 2 clinical trial for its oral COVID vaccine pill. VXRT in early Sept. said the first part of the trial met its main goals.

"The increase (in Q3 R&D expenses) was mainly due to increases in headcount and related costs, and in manufacturing and clinical trial expenses related to our COVID-19 and norovirus vaccine candidates," VXRT said in the earnings report .

VXRT ended Q3 with cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale debt securities of $114.8M, about 13% lower than the $131.5M reported at the end of Q2.

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