Dawson James Securities

Oct 23, 2022

Eleon 21 mins ago Jhe 7th Annual Small Cap Growth Conference hosted by Dawson James Securities is in the books, with presentations from some companies that may offer opportunities for investors. Small-cap growth stocks are those that are in the bottom 10% of US stock market capitalization and show rapid growth rates in earnings, sales, and other financial measures. Small Cap Growth Conference Details The Small Cap Growth Conference was held October 12 in Florida and offered a full day of two-tier presentations from companies in the healthcare, technology and consumer sectors. Conference attendees heard from executives of more than 30 different small-cap companies, giving them the opportunity to develop investment theses for multiple publicly traded names. Investing in small capitalization companies presents more risk, but also the opportunity for greater reward. However, investors need to know where to look for the best ideas, and Dawson James has rounded up some of the best and brightest names trading on the Nasdaq. “As specialists in companies that have disruptive technology and are biotech innovators, we are excited about stocks that have the potential for exponential returns but are trading at compressed valuations,” said Dawson’s David Weinstein. James. CollPlant Biotechnology: CLGN CollPlant Biotechnologies, which has the unique ability to grow human collagen, is one of the companies presenting at this year’s Dawson James Small Cap Growth Conference. In many ways, CollPlant could be the future of regenerative medicine. Currently, the company sells the ink used to print organs and tissues of all kinds on 3D printers, which could one day obviate the need for organ transplants. About a third of the proteins in the body are made up of collagen, which makes it the building block of organs and tissues. Currently, widely used collagen comes from pigs or cows, which is not only unsustainable but also cruel. Some labs also use cadaver collagen, which is also not sustainable. These sources of collagen can introduce viruses to the patient and degrade rapidly. However, many pharmaceutical companies are working on new organs and tissues, so they need collagen. As a result, CollPlant devised a way to grow human collagen by taking five human genes from DNA and integrating them into a tobacco plant, allowing human collagen to grow whenever needed. This collagen grown by CollPlant is hypoallergenic, which makes it much safer than other sources of collagen, and it’s sustainable because the company uses plants and can continue to grow more of them. For now, CollPlant sells Bio-Ink, a collagen-based product used in 3D printers to print human organs and tissues. However, as more and more companies work on ways to grow human organs, they will have to buy their collagen from an under-the-radar Israeli company. CollPlant’s share price has had a record year in 2021, topping $20 per share after the company announced a deal with AbbVie (ABBV) subsidiary Allergan, the world’s largest producer of fillers dermal. Unfortunately, CollPlant’s share price has fallen alongside the rest of the market in 2022, although the company’s opportunities remain. Allergan signed an agreement with CollPlant that included an upfront payment of $14 million for the dermal fillers with the possibility of additional milestone payments of $89 million, plus royalties on future sales of the product by Allergan. Naturally, many pharmaceutical companies want CollPlant’s extensive product use rights, but the company is set on a licensing model, which means long-term recurring revenue. The company may end up with several large contracts for different applications of its product. It is important to note that CollPlant has already received approval in Europe for wound care products following successful trials, and there have never been any adverse events while using the product for wound care. Additionally, the company has $36 million in cash on its balance sheet and only burns around $12 million a year, giving it a long streak of growth without needing to raise capital anytime soon. HeartBeam: BEAT Another company featured at the 7th Annual Small Cap Growth Conference was HeartBeam, which is making breakthroughs in heart attack detection. Of course, the 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) is the gold standard for detecting heart attacks, but patients have to go to the hospital to have it done. HeartBeam solves this problem with a device the size of a credit card. While the Apple Watch and other wearables have received significant attention among tech-focused media, these devices only use two tracks, making them inadequate when it comes to really knowing if someone someone has a heart attack. It is even stated on the websites regarding these wearable devices that they cannot detect a heart attack as they are not accurate. HeartBeam co-founder Branislav Vajdic says they believe they are the first to solve the problem of not knowing whether to go to hospital for chest pain. “This company was founded to solve the unsolved problem of heart attack patients who don’t know what to do when they experience chest pain,” he said. “To the best of our knowledge, there is no other patient-facing technology that helps a patient in this position decide whether they are having a heart attack or suffering from something benign like a pulled muscle or a indigestion.” Another problem with detecting heart attacks is that commonly used 3D monitoring only covers one side of the heart. However, the attack could occur on the other side of the core, making it undetectable for devices currently on the market. HeartBeam is progressing through the approval process with the Food and Drug Administration and expects approval within the next 90 days. To use the credit card-sized device, patients simply place it on their chest and hold it there. The device takes a wireless reading and transmits the results to the monitoring center. It is designed for people who have already had a heart attack and are now monitoring their condition. The device also connects to their mobile phone and immediately tells them if they need to go to the hospital. NextPlat: NXPL The conference also spotlighted NextPlat (NXPL), an e-commerce platform that uses non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to track anything bought or sold on the internet. Unlike many uses of cryptocurrency and NFT, NextPlat’s platform has nothing to do with the buying process. It is fully used for tracking sales and purchases and aims to eliminate e-commerce fraud, especially regarding prescription orders from online pharmacies. Charles M. Fernandez, president and CEO of NextPlat, says they’re just getting started. “NextPlat has now taken its first step by investing in RXMD to start the process of selling healthcare and pharmaceutical products online,” he said. “I plan to launch a range of pharmaceutical and over-the-counter products on our platform by the end of the first quarter.” Final Thoughts When it comes to small cap companies, the choice is vast. It is essential that investors choose wisely because even though they are all high-risk names, the possibility of a large reward could make investing in some of them worth the risk. However, it’s always a good idea to do your due diligence, and a conference like this is just the tip of the iceberg. After spending some time digging into your favorite ideas, you’ll be able to see which small-cap names offer the greatest promise. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. nasdaq Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor. Eleon 21 mins ago