Profusa Falls 35% in After-Hours Trading After 506% Surge; Plans Reverse Stock Split to Meet Nasdaq Requirements

Profusa Inc.'s stock was a hot topic on Tuesday evening.

The commercial-stage digital health and bioengineering company's stock fell 35.04% to $17.85 after Tuesday's market close.

This decline in after-hours trading followed a massive intraday surge of 506.62% to $27.48.

Trading Volume Spikes to 221 Times Average

The stock saw extremely active trading on Tuesday. A total of 53.54 million shares changed hands, compared to an average daily volume of 241,870 shares. This is approximately 221 times the stock's average trading volume.

The stock's movement accompanied a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing in which Profusa invited shareholders to a special meeting on September 18 to vote on a proposal allowing the board to execute one or more reverse stock splits over the next two years, at ratios ranging from 1-for-2 to 1-for-12. The common stock's par value is $0.0001 per share, and the split will not change this par value.

Shareholders of record as of Wednesday's close will be entitled to vote at the special meeting.

Nasdaq Compliance Is the Core Issue

The company stated that this proposed reverse stock split is intended to help it regain compliance with Nasdaq's minimum bid price requirement and to improve liquidity by facilitating future financing to attract new investors.

According to the SEC filing, Profusa has already conducted three reverse stock splits this year: 1-for-75 in February, 1-for-25 in July, and 1-for-4 on Monday. The company executed these actions to meet previous Nasdaq compliance deadlines.

Insider Activity Disclosed

In another SEC filing, New York-based institutional investor and beneficial owner of more than 10% of shares, HRT Financial LP, disclosed that it sold 3,163 shares of Profusa common stock on Monday at $0.902 per share. The total transaction amount was approximately $2,853.

Following the transaction, the company's beneficial ownership stood at 71,035 shares, held directly.

Trading Metrics, Technical Analysis

Profusa's market capitalization is approximately $16.65 million. Its stock trades between a 52-week high of $5,190.01 and a 52-week low of $3.22.

PFSA's Relative Strength Index is 84.28.

Over the past 12 months, this biotech stock has declined 99.35%.

PFSA is currently trading near its annual low. Technical analysis of the stock indicates that PFSA is experiencing a short-term upward trend, accompanied by mid-term and long-term consolidation.