VirnetX's Stock Plunges After Disappointing Ruling In Patent Claims Against Apple

VirnetX Holding Corp.'s stock plunged 44% in active morning trade Monday to a 6 1/2-month low, enough to make it the biggest declining stock listed on U.S. exchanges, after a disappointing court ruling regarding its patent infringement claims against Apple Inc. Volume topped 1.3 million shares, which was already about double the full-day average. The internet security software company said the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a new order in the case against Apple, vacating the previous order to consolidate the two cases, and to retry them as separate cases. "We are disappointed by the court's decision to vacate its prior ruling on consolidation and ordering the parties to retry the cases as two separate matters," said VirnetX Chief Executive Kendall Larsen. In February, VirnetX's stock soared after a federal Jury in Texas ordered Apple to pay $625 million for infringing on VirnetX's patents.