One New Zealand Top 50 index stock fell more than 80 per cent in the first half of this year and is unlikely to recover fully, while cyclical stocks linked to housing are proving to be 2023′s winners.
The worst performing stock, Pacific Edge Biotechnology’s (PEB), dropped below 10 cents a share in June, after a decision from a Medicare contractor that would see the United States health insurance scheme stop covering the cost of its bladder cancer diagnostics tests - eroding the majority of PEB’s revenue.
“Clearly it was a big surprise to the company, to us and to the market,” Jarden analyst Christian Bell told Markets with Madison.
An announcement from the company yesterday provided a glimmer of hope to reverse the decision, doubling its share price to 20 cents a share, but Bell said its prospects remained uncertain.
