Short Seller Slams TransEnterix, Shares Slip

Shares of medical device company Transenterix Inc TRXC, which specializes in making surgical robots, took a tumble after short seller TheStreetSweeper released a report saying sell the stock.

At time of writing, shares of TransEnterix were off 9.65 percent at $2.81. The shares were trending broadly sideways ahead of the report.

Only last week, shares of TransEnterix had spiked sharply on news the FDA approved its Senhance Surgical Robotic System. The stock nearly doubled on Oct. 16 on the news and rose further on Oct. 17, taking it to its highest level in about 1.5 years.

TheStreetSweeper's sell recommendation was premised mainly on TransEnterix CEO Todd Pope selling 600,000 shares in the company five days after the FDA approval came through.

"So the man who best understands the pluses and minuses of the TransEnterix robot is unloading stock at a time when the product has just attained the marketing approval that's supposed to turn the company around?" the report questioned.

"If the CEO's selling now, we're selling."

See also: Intuitive Surgical Makes New All-Time High After Q3 Beat

TheStreetSweeper's report also noted that chief financial officer Joseph Slattery sold 23,391 shares to pay for 150,000 shares through his cashless warrant exercise, with the firm suggesting the warrants have the potential to dilute shareholder equity.

The report further noted that the Senhance bot fared badly overseas even after being in the market since 2011. The company managed to sell just 3, the report said.

Ther report also noted that the Senhance bot is up against stiff competition posed by Intuitive Surgical, Inc. ISRG's da Vinci system.

Concluding the report said, "There's no way TransEnterix will build a business worthy of today's nearly $500 million stock market valuation. We believe the company, which has accumulated over $333 million in losses, would be overpriced at a price-to-sales less than a fifth of the current 94 ratio."

"The stock is dangerously ahead of itself and we expect a sudden, near-term 60% drop off the cliff."