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Traders Mystified by 3000% Surge in Shares of Cancer-Drug Maker

Traders Mystified by 3000% Surge in Shares of Cancer-Drug Maker

(Bloomberg) -- A 3,000 percent jump in shares of Bio-Path Holdings Inc. over the past six trading sessions has left traders guessing what may be behind the rally.

Thursday’s nine-fold spike in volume triggered nine volatility halts as Bio-Path shares rose as much as 512 percent to their highest levels since November 2017. It was the third time in the past five sessions that the shares more than doubled. The company said early Wednesday that it revised a mid-stage study of its drug regimen for acute myeloid leukemia to include a recently approved treatment.

Traders Mystified by 3000% Surge in Shares of Cancer-Drug Maker

Bearish bets against the stock have also jumped recently, with short interest accounting for 15 percent of the shares available for trading. That’s up from less than 1 percent in January, according to financial analytics firm S3 Partners. The next catalysts for Bio-Path include fourth-quarter results expected sometime in the next month.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bailey Lipschultz in New York at blipschultz@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Catherine Larkin at clarkin4@bloomberg.net

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