The markets are headed to a weak start this morning. This comes amidst rising concerns that the market is overvalued after the S&P 500 hit an all-time despite the ongoing pandemic. The uncertainty comes after labour data consistently showing that the U.S economy was still struggling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic The FOMC recent minutes also point to tempered optimism.
This environment has seen investors pile money into tech stocks that have an element of dominance in their markets, or have innovations that could help drive up their market value. Despite the current market environment, there are non-big tech stocks that are gaining momentum before markets open. Some of the top performers ahead of markets are:
Eyepoint Pharmaceuticals Inc [NASDAQ: EYPT]
Eyepoint Pharmaceuticals Inc is a top performer pre-market and is up by 49%. This follows the company’s announcement that it had received $9.5 million in upfront payments for an expanded license agreement from Ocumension Therapeutics.
The company stated that the deal was for the commercialization of YUTIQ® and DEXYCU® in South Korea and other markets in Southeast Asia. The payment is supposed to be full compensation for all development, regulatory and commercial sale transactions. Commenting on the deal, CFO George Elston stated that Ocumension was a major partner and shares the company’s core beliefs of pushing YUTIQ® and DEXYCU® in the treatment of several unmet medical needs.
He added that the company was happy to expand its partnership with Ocumension in the Asian market and that the money received would be used to expand the company’s clinical projects that are currently being developed. On his part, Ocumension CEO Ye Liu stated that they looked forward to the continued development of the two products. Since the deal is a revenue boost for Eyepoint, the company is uniquely positioned for gains all through the day.
Oragenics Inc [NYSE: OGEN]
Oragenics Inc is another top performer pre-market and is currently up by 11 %. This follows the company’s announcement that it had signed a process development and a manufacturing deal with Avid Bioservices for a COVD-19 vaccine. Under the deal, Avid will offer Oragenics support for analytical methods drug manufacturing and method development for Terra Cov-2 (a COVID-19 vaccine).
Commenting on the deal, Oragenics CEO Alan Joslyn stated that with Avid’s infrastructure capabilities, they are the right partners for the development. This deal is likely to support this project all through the day.
ShiftPixy Inc [NASDAQ: PIXY]
ShiftPixy is up in pre-market trading and is currently up by 11%. This comes after the company announced that it was relocating its corporate headquarters to Miami, Florida. Co-founder Scott Absher stated that Miami was on their roadmap for
