Coronavirus and fires give small caps a boost TIM BOREHAM With...

Coronavirus and fires give small caps a boost TIM BOREHAM With the stockmarket off to a galloping start in 2020 — at least before this week’s coronavirus sniffles — most investors would have been content with a passive market exposure to the usual blue chips. As is the norm, the speculative end of the market moves to its own rhythms and influences. Here are two stocks where bad news — coronavirus and wild weather — have managed to cast a new light on prospects. Biotron (BIT) 7.5c Before medical dope went to pot, any biotech aligning itself with the sector — no matter how peripherally — was assured of an instant share price jump. We expect the same thing will happen with any company linking the terms “coronavirus” and “cure”. The closest we’ve got so far is the antiviral play Biotron, which rose tenfold in value in 2018 after unexpectedly efficacious HIV trial results with its drug candidate BIT 225. The share rally subsequently fizzled, but on January 22 the stock spiked from 6c to 8.4c as the coronavirus outbreak intensified. Queried by the ASX, the company merely noted that two directors had been recent keen buyers and referenced patent applications and upcoming medical conferences. While there was no specific mention of the “c” word, punters have latched on to Biotron’s clinical program for “pan respiratory” viruses including coronaviruses. In June last year a Biotron presentation mentioned “corona” as part of an early-stage screening program — and it wasn’t referring to a 1970s Toyota. Named after its crown-like shape, the common coronavirus is responsible for past pestilences including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome. The flu-like symptoms are treated with bed and rest and — in severe cases — oxygen ventilation. Biotron CEO Michelle Miller says while the company’s work on pan respiratory viruses continues, there’s not much to add at this stage. She says while a vaccine can be developed reasonably quickly, a drug cannot. “Even if we have a compound which is absolutely fabulous we would have years of lead time before anything gets to market,” she says. By that time, the virus will have taken on another malevolent form.