Organovo made faster than expected progress in validating its 3D liver assays, completing functional validation in late January rather than March and providing them to Key Opinion Leaders in April rather than planned for later. While revenue from the liver assays launching in December 2014 will not be seen until mid-2015, the opinions of these KOLs will have a major impact on the company's stock and the investment thesis for shareholders before then. Investing in speculative companies like Organovo should only make up part of one's portfolio alongside more stable dividend paying stocks.

1. 3 Things You Need to Know

3. On one hand…
 In April, the company
said many short attacks
were, “exceptionally—
and likely
intentionally—
misleading.”
 The company filed a libel
lawsuit against one
research firm putting out
short attacks.
 While the facts being used
might be in question,
there’s no doubt this is a
speculative company.
 Essentially no product
revenue has ever been
created.
 Management has had a
number of dilutive
offerings.
On the other…

5.  Organovo was expected to finish functional validation
of its 3-D liver assays in March, and have them to Key
Opinion Leaders (KOLs) by April.
 The company reached both of those goals by late
January.
 Demand has been strong enough for these assays that
the company is conducting liver toxicity tests for
selected customers ahead of the product’s December
2014 launch.

7.  Organovo has not provided a timeline for when KOL
findings will be released.
 However, since the liver assays will launch prior to
2015, KOL opinions will likely be released before that
time.
 Investors likely won’t get a chance to see revenue
numbers before mid-2015 earnings are released, so
these KOL opinions will have a major impact on the
company’s stock…and the investment thesis for
shareholders.

8. Investing in cutting-edge companies like Organovo is
fun, but such speculative companies alone shouldn’t
dominate your portfolio.
To get a list of solid, steady, dividend payers, check out
our special free report:
Top Dividend Stocks for the Next
Decade