Nanogen, Inc., a San Diego-based medical diagnostics company, has announced it will sell 6.8 million shares of its common stock at $2.94 a share.
In its Sept. 28 announcement of the same-day sale, from which it expects to gain $18.9 million, Nanogen said it will use the money for general purposes, including working capital and acquisitions.
Nanogen’s Nanochip Molecular Biology Workstation is sold to labs, which use it to identify DNA mutations and disease-causing agents. Nanochip 400, a newer version of the diagnostic, will be available before the year is over, said Rebecca Wong, a spokeswoman for the company.
The company’s stock was trading at $3.08 per share the morning of the announcement, down 12 cents from the previous day’s close.
Nanogen’s revenue has largely fluctuated since 2001, when it was $11.2 million, according to the company’s most recent annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It then jumped to $17.2 million in 2002, and dropped to $6.7 million in 2003. Revenue for 2004 is $5.4 million.
According to the report, Nanogen operated at a net loss of $39 million in 2004 its largest annual net loss since at least 2000.
The company was founded in 1993 and went public in 1998. Its Nasdaq symbol is NGEN.
Katie Weeks
