Why Shares of VirnetX Holding Corp. Jumped Today

What happened

Shares of patent-holding company VirnetX Holding Corp. (NYSEMKT: VHC) jumped on Thursday after the company released preliminary third-quarter results. The stock has been volatile following the recent news that the company had won a patent case against Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). At 3:45 p.m. EDT, shares of VirnetX were up about 14%.

So what

VirnetX expects to produce third-quarter revenue of between $1.0 million and $1.2 million. A net loss of between $11 million and $12 million is expected, which comes out to a per-share loss between $0.18 and $0.20. VirnetX also disclosed that it expects its cash, cash equivalents, and investments held for sale to be approximately $4.3 million.

These preliminary results come a few days after VirnetX announced that it had been awarded $440 million in its years-long patent battle against Apple. The federal judge in the case ruled that Apple's on-demand VPN and FaceTime features infringe on VirnetX's patents, ordering the tech giant to pay $1.80 for each infringing device. Apple plans to appeal the ruling.

VirnetX also disclosed that a previously announced stock-purchase agreement, in which a consortium of Japanese corporations and financial institutions would purchase $20 million worth of shares in a private placement for $3.64 per share, has been terminated due to the recent rise in the stock price.

Now what

VirnetX's future depends on eventually getting paid by Apple. Its quarterly results are mostly irrelevant. With Apple set to appeal the ruling, it's unclear when or if VirnetX will be paid. The stock has been on quite a ride over the past month, and today's surge may just be the result of that volatility.

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