Ekso Bionics Holdings Inc (OTCMKTS:EKSO) Presents Ahead Of Near Term Catalysts

Early in May, Ekso Bionics Holdings Inc (OTCMKTS:EKSO) effected a 1:7 reverse stock split with one goal in mind: a listing on the NASDAQ. The company is currently traded over the counter, and while it has had a pretty decent year from an operations perspective, fell short of the NASDAQ listing requirements on the basis that its stock went for below $4 a share open market. Through the split, Ekso management were able to boost the company's price above the $4 threshold, and ride out the minimum 30-day trading day (above the threshold) period – a predefined requirement before a company can apply for listing. This requirement is now met and Ekso looks set to file for the uplisting any day now. Markets seem to be well aware of the fact, and the company is up just shy of 6% mid morning US on Monday.For those not familiar with Ekso, it's one of the leading companies in a sector that many believe is just beginning to take off – the exoskeleton space. As its name suggests, an exoskeleton is a piece of wearable technology that targets the enhancing of an individual's physical limitations, and they've got a massive number of potential applications– healthcare, construction, military, you name it. Ekso is going after the healthcare space as a primary focus, but its got some pretty advanced technology and host of well established patents that have military and construction sector applications, among others.The company showcased its Ekso GT skeleton system at the 9th World Congress for NeuroRehabilitation (WCNR) in Philadelphia back in May. It's the first system of its kind to receive FDA approval for aiding the recovery and rehabilitation of both individuals with hemiplegia due to stroke, and individuals with spinal cord injuries at levels L5-C7 (this accounts for the majority of the lower to upper middle back). Why is this important? Because it means it has the widest potential patient population of all FDA approved exoskeleton technologies.It's a cutting edge technology, and CEO Thomas Lobby backed up this assertion recently with this comment on a Vodafone partnership:

With Vodafone IoT technology, we can monitor how our exoskeletons are performing in real time, providing therapists with data on how the patients' rehabilitation is progressing.

There's potential here, but as is generally the case at this end of the healthcare spectrum, capital is the major risk. Revenues are improving rapidly, with first quarter 2016 sales totaling $8.48 million, almost outweighing full year 2015 sales of $8.66 million, but these systems are expensive to build and sell, and that means Ekso will have to bear a negative bottom line as it expands. Currently, this is to the tune of a $6.77 million first quarter net loss ($3.65 million before taking into account the impact of preferred stock and other adjustments). Expect this to rise going forward, however.Cantor Fitzgerald’s 2nd Annual Healthcare Conference in New York City is the next big event in the healthcare space, and Ekso is scheduled to take the stage at 11:45 am ET on July 13. This is an open webcast event, so chances are a pretty wide audience will watch management discuss current and future operations. As such, it's a major potential upside catalyst. We may even see the uplisting announcement come at that presentation, or if we don't, we should definitely see some indication as to its planned timeline.With a number of strong near term catalysts, it's difficult to see where Ekso might trip up going forward, other than the already mentioned capital requirements. This is a new technology, and while it's potentially game changing for suffers of strokes or spinal injuries that would otherwise have no treatment, forging new markets is very rarely easy. When it is easy, its expensive. Ekso and a handful of others in the space are trying to carve out a market that as yet only accounts for a very small niche in the rehabilitation space, and investors need to be aware that this won't be an overnight task. The company doesn’t have a history of overly dilutive finance raises, so this mitigates some of the capital generation risk going forward, but far from removes it entirely.The takeaway? A slow burner in a potentially huge space. Patience will probably garner reward, but there's going to be plenty of ups and downs as Ekso tries to find its feet. All eyes on the Cantor event. We will be updating Insider Financial as soon as we know more. For continuing coverage on EKSO, sign up for our free newsletter today and get a free ebook as an added bonus!Disclosure: We have no position in EKSO and have not been compensated for this article.