Mixed results from micro caps

I just listened to the quarterly conference call from TorreyPines Therapeutics (1.0% of portfolio). They seem to be making decent progress in multiple clinical trials, but the big concern is financing. At current burn rates, they only have about a year of cash left. They said on the call that a pivotal Phase 3 trial will be contingent upon obtaining more financing, which they are now seeking (in as non-dilutive a manner as possible). It is a classic case of a biotech stock that has been losing market cap in proportion to a dwindling cash balance, which assigns almost no value to the actual compounds in development. It is a small percentage of my portfolio, so I’m holding here to see if they can pull through.

Also a small portion of my portfolio is NutraCea (2.0% of portfolio), which released results last night. The conference call described the usual mix of potentially lucrative opportunities, countered by dilutive financing and execution issues. My patience with the company is wearing thin, but I'm willing to wait it out for a few more quarters with my reduced position to see if they can make it work.

Finally, also of note in the micro cap space is Mass Megawatts Wind Power (2.2% of portfolio), which has been surging upward in recent weeks, after their announcement of a sale of equipment to the U.S. Army. Some momentum seekers may be piling in, as it now trades 10 to 20 times the past year’s average daily volume. I’m tempted to sell a bit into the spike, but am dealing with such small amounts that I’m willing to see how much further it can run before selling a portion of my shares.