VirnetX Holding Corporation (NYSEMKT:VHC) shares nearly halved on Monday to their lowest levels since early January and the biggest faller on the Russell 2000 index after a setback in its legal wrangle with Apple Inc (NASDAQ:APPL) over alleged patent infringement.
The disappointing court ruling regarding its patent infringement claims against Apple sent VirnetX shares down 43% to $2.47 and volume topped 2.76mln shares versus a daily average of 505,000. That’s about five times the daily volumes.
The internet security software company said the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a new order in the case against Apple, vacating the previous order to consolidate the two cases, and to retry them as separate cases.
In February, VirnetX's stock soared after a federal Jury in Texas ordered Apple to pay $625mln for infringing VirnetX's patents.
Apple shares were up 1.7% at $105.98 on Monday.