In the midst of escalating economic worries, markets took another hit on the back of a 10% drop in crude prices, with the decline continuing over the weekend. OPEC countries held a meeting in Vienna last week to discuss a potential cut in oil production. However, they failed to reach a consensus after Russia refused to accept a deep production cut of 1.5 million barrels per day. It’s expected that oil prices will continue to drop in the following days, which can put more pressure on the stock markets.
As portfolio’s get rebalanced, Financial Advisors switched their attention to OTC markets,according to data from TrackStar, InvestingChannel’s official newsletter capturing and analyzing the trends of Financial Advisors. Even though a number of large-cap companies such as Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) remained the most searched tickers, the fourth spot was taken by Q.E.P. Co., Inc. (OTC: QEPC), a $50 million manufacturer of flooring and installation solutions.
In addition, five other OTC stocks made the list of most searched tickers, including Epcyclon Technologies, Inc. (OTC: PRFC), The Stephan Co. (OTC: SPCO), Boss Holdings, Inc. (OTC: BSHI), Crimson Wine Group Ltd. (OTC: CWGL), EDCI Holdings, Inc. (OTC: EDCI), and Nuvo Pharmaceuticals Inc (OTC: NRIFF).
Among the OTC stocks that captured the attention of Financial Advisors last week, Nuvo Pharmaceuticals is the only company that has any significant developments that might explain why it got the spotlight. Nuvo Pharmaceuticals is a $7.0 million Canadian healthcare company that owns a portfolio of products focused on pain therapy, allergy, and dermatology. The company’s stock has surged by more than 68% since the beginning of the year.
Nuvo reported its Q4 results on February 25. The company posted revenue of C$19.6 million ($14.35 million) for the fourth quarter, up by over 300% on the year. However, it also reported a net loss of C$456,000, narrowing it down significantly from C$4.63 million a year earlier. Moreover, for the full year, the company turned to a profit of C$3.36 million from a net loss of C$6.15 million in 2018.
There were a number of developments that helped Nuvo propel its revenue higher and lower its bottom-line loss. The prescriptions for two of the company’s products, antihistamine Blexten and anti-inflammatory Cambia increased by 61% and 28%, respectively, last year.
Another factor contributing to Nuvo’s growth was the acquisition of Aralex Pharmaceuticals. The acquisition valued at $110 million was completed at the end of 2018.
Going forward, Nuvo expects further growth for its pipeline of products. At the end of February, Health Canada approved the company’s Suvexx drug for the acute treatment of migraine attacks. The drug is expected to hit the markets in the second half of 2020. Nuvo also plans to file the registration of pediatric dosage of Blexten in Canada with a regulatory decision expected by mid-2021.
In addition, Nuvo boasts a growing international business that includes recent approvals of anti-inflammatory drug Pennsaid in Switzerland and India.
Given Nuvo’s growth trajectory and stellar financial results, it’s no surprise that the stock got on Financial Advisors’ radars.