DryShips Shares Float Higher On New Investment

DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS), the nano-cap owner of drybulk carriers and offshore support vessels, dominated financial headlines last year when its stock soared from under $5 per share to above $100 share in just a few days only to give up all of the gains. Once more, it is making headlines.

DryShips announced ahead of Tuesday's market open that it has successfully completed a $200 million common stock offering at a price of $3.08 per share and the net proceeds to the company will be $198.0 million.

Tuesday's announcement is a follow up from January 3 when the company signed a definitive agreement with Sifnos Shareholders Inc., an entity controlled by the company's founder and chairman George Economou.

Following the completion of the new financing, the total amount of common shares outstanding will be 36.253 million.

DryShips stock was trading near a split adjusted low of $1.97 during Monday's trading session but soared more than 44 percent in the after-hours session. On Tuesday, the stock's gains continued and opened for trading at $3.55, representing a gain of more than 40 percent from Monday's close of $2.46.

Of particular note to investors, DryShips' stock is a low-float and heavily shorted, which could create highly volatile swings.