Investors in the Australian biotech sector could be forgiven for thinking they are operating in the wild, wild west based on the recent share price movements of well known and long established companies.

The recent gyrations in the share prices of Prima Biomed and Sirtex Medical raise questions about the functioning of the continuous disclosure regime and the sophistication of local investors.

The Prima Biomed case also provides insights into the volatility that can occur when social media is used as a vehicle for spruiking stocks. That spruiking was this week based on share price momentum rather than investment fundamentals.

Twitter was alive this week with posts about Prima Biomed in the United States, where the stock is listed on the Nasdaq exchange. That helps explain why a company with a market capitalisation of $237 million traded more than $600 million worth of shares on Wednesday night on Nasdaq.

There was good news reported by the company on Tuesday which showed encouraging clinical data for ovarian cancer patients in second remission.

For more details, go to: http://www.afr.com/brand/chanticleer/biotech-stocks-in-the-wild-wild-west-20150522-gh6x9s