Investors in newly-minted NASDAQ stock Moolec Science (NASDAQ:MLEC) who sold their shares before the weekend are cheering today. This is because today, the stock that gained 251% in its last session lost as much as 43% in Monday’s trading. Though it ultimately closed down just shy of a third, after-hours isn’t doing Moolec any favors. The firm is part of a big new trend in food: molecular farming. Specifically, Moolec—and those like it—are out to try and make plants grow animal products.
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For instance, a plant can be genetically engineered to create proteins typically found in dairy. Then, the plant can be programmed to excrete those proteins, meaning that a goat may not be the only source of goat’s milk any longer. They also rely on substances called bioreactors, which are in short supply and difficult to work with. Thus, scaling up to allow molecular farming to even supplement traditional agriculture will take some doing.
Scaling up will, not surprisingly, take capital, and that’s likely what drove Moolec shares onto the NASDAQ. Several other companies are making moves in this sector, including Tiamat and Core Bioscience. Moolec, however, has products waiting in the wings, including a cheesemaking protein called chymosin and a “nutritional oil” called “gamma-linoleic acid.” Further developments include a beef replacement called BEEF+ and a pork replacement known as POORK+.
Moolec is finding at least some purchase with retail investors. However, the last five days of trading show a stock that’s highly volatile, as Moolec shares saw a range of under $5 to nearly $20 per share.
