Shares of Israeli nano-cap pharmaceutical company BioBlast Pharma Ltd ORPN surged on 71 times average volume Wednesday morning, spiking up 126 percent at their peak. The stock has seen occasional burst periods of high volatility throughout the past year, including a 20 percent spike Jan. 5 amid speculation the company had concluded its strategic alternative review efforts.
The unusual price activity came as a surprise to CEO Fred Price who described the spike as "bizarre," noting that this has happened before.
"I spoke to Nasdaq and told them we have no clue as to what's happening," Price told Benzinga in an email. "This has happened twice before in the last six months and the stock usually goes back to where it started within a day or so."
Price said this was possibly the result of a technical error or a trader mistake, likening it to Saturday’s false missile attack warning in which a Hawaii state employee accidentally triggered an emergency alert system.
Shares of BioBlast traded around $3.02 at time of publication, up 15 percent on the day.
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