Why Immunomedics Inc. Shares Crashed Today

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Immunomedics shares fell by more than 15% today after the company reported that it lost $0.12 per share during the fourth quarter and proposed an $85 million secondary convertible debt offering that could dilute current investors.

Source: Immunomedics

So what: It's not uncommon for clinical stage biotechnology companies to tap the markets for financing. According to the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, the direct costs to bring a drug to market total an average of $1.4 billion.

The $85 million dollar offering will help provide stable funding for Immunomedics' R&D pipeline programs, which include the company's ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial for clivatuzumab tetraxetan as a pancreatic cancer drug, and the Phase 2 clinical trials for IMMU-132 and IMMU-130.

During the company's recently finished fiscal second quarter, total costs, including spending on these trials, totaled $12.5 million, up from $9.8 million the year before. During the first six months of the company's fiscal year, total expenses reached $26 million, up from $20.9 million a year ago. Given that rate of cash use and the fact that the company exited the quarter with $21.3 million in cash on the books, it's probably not surprising to learn of the proposed offering.

Now what: Assuming that the offering goes off without a hitch, the company will have more breathing room, but that still may not mean that it's a good bet for investors. Clivatuzumab tetraxetan is the company's most advanced product in development, and results from its phase 3 trial aren't expected until sometime in 2016. Since 93% of drugs entering phase 1 clinical trials for cancer end up in the waste bin and pancreatic cancer is a notoriously tough-to-treat cancer, I'm content to sit on the sidelines for now on this stock.

The article Why Immunomedics Inc. Shares Crashed Today originally appeared on Fool.com.

Todd Campbell has no position in any stocks mentioned. Todd owns E.B. Capital Markets, LLC. E.B. Capital's clients may or may not have positions in the companies mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.