Shares of Sophiris Bio Inc. plunged 32% in active morning trade, enough to make them the biggest decliner on the Nasdaq exchange, after the biopharmaceutical company said it priced its public share offering at a deep discount. Trading volume was about 4.3 million shares, nearly matching the full-day average just 40 minutes into the regular session. Sophiris said its offering of 6.5 million common shares, and warrants to buy 4.875 million shares with an exercise price of $4 a share, were offered at $4 a share. That was 31% below Monday’s closing price of $5.82. If the warrants are exercised, the 11.4 million shares sold would boost the shares outstanding by about 50%. Despite the selloff, the stock has still more than doubled year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 7.3%.
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