AVI BioPharma: Pump Up the Volume

BOTHELL, Wash. (TheStreet) -- AVI BioPharma (AVII Quote) was trading sharply higher on a surge in volume after the company said it received expanded funding for development of its Junin virus drug treatment.

AVI BioPharma said it has received expanded contract of approximately $11.5 million from the Defense Department that will support development of its drug candidate, AVI-7012, to treat Junin virus infection. Junin virus, which is spread by rodents and causes Argentine hemorrhagic fever, has been researched for weaponization.

To date, the Defense Department has contracted with AVI for work potentially worth up to $45 million for the development of AVI's RNA-based drug candidates to treat Ebola, Marburg and Junin virus infections, the company said in the release.

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AVI BioPharma shares were rallying sharply higher on big volume. The stock was lately rising 45 cents, or 28.9%, to $2.01, making it one of the Nasdaq's top performers Monday. Earlier in the session, the stock touched an intraday high of $2.06.

More than 12 million shares changed hands by late morning Monday, compared to the stock's 50-day average daily volume of 4.3 million, according to the Nasdaq. AVI BioPharma has a 68.5 million-share float with a short interest float of 7.7% as of Sept. 10, according to Yahoo! Finance. More than 11% of the company's shares are held by insiders with another 23% owned by institutions.

Over the weekend, Barron's profiled AVI BioPharma and said that if the company's drug for the worst form of muscular dystrophy moves toward FDA approval, the stock could surge. The company also may become an acquisition target, the profile said.

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