Why AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc Jumped Higher Today

AcelRx Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ACRX) closed up nearly 20% on Monday, having jumped a whopping 64% over the last week. While there's no apparent news today to drive the stock higher -- or within the last week, for that matter -- it's likely the stock has rocketed higher in anticipation of an FDA approval for AcelRx's pain medication Dsuvia.

The FDA is scheduled to make a decision about Dsuvia by Oct. 12, but that date, which is determined by the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), is just a goal, and the agency sometimes makes its decision early. The agency also isn't held to that PDUFA date -- it's a goal, not a deadline -- and can take longer to make a decision if it needs to.

As often happens with biotech companies, investors appear to be piling in ahead of the binary event. Adding fuel to the fire, the "More News" link on the front page of AcelRx's website, which presumably should bring you to a list of recent press releases was broken, although the likely link can be found here, which doesn't have an FDA approval announcement on it at the moment.

Source: Fool.com