Shares of GW Pharmaceuticals PLC jumped 18% Tuesday, after the biotech posted a narrower-than-expected third-quarter loss and a revenue beat and said a delayed late-stage trial of its cannabinoid-based treatment for multiple sclerosis spasticity can now proceed.
Volume of 2.14 million shares traded was 5.5 times the 65-day average of 385,930.
GW Pharma
GWPH,
is the first company to win U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for a cannabis-based drug, in the form of Epidiolex, a treatment that thus far has mostly been used to treat severe forms of childhood epilepsy.
Epidiolex sales came to $132.6 million in the third quarter, accounting for the vast majority of total sales of $137.1 million. That was up from $91.0 million in the same period a year ago, and ahead of the FactSet consensus for $127.4 million.
The company’s net loss narrowed to $12.2 million or 3 cents a share, from $13.8 million, or 4 cents a share,…