Shares of Mesoblast (NASDAQ: MESO) fell as much as 22.3% today as investors decided to lock in gains. The stem-cell stock erupted for a 139% gain on Friday after data from a small study suggested the company's cell therapy might significantly improve outcomes for COVID-19 patients placed on mechanical ventilators.
The promising early stage results pushed the company's market cap to over $1.6 billion. Mesoblast had been valued at $450 million a few weeks earlier. Today's move suggests investors are taking the biopharma's inexperience and the preliminary nature of the study's data into account.
As of 3:58 p.m. EDT on Monday, the small-cap stock had settled to a 21.5% loss.