April 30, 2024 4:30pm

The cell and gene therapy sector traded into the red Tuesday after higher-than-expected wage data raised fresh inflation concerns

The Harvard Apparatus RT (OTCQB: HRGN) Chronicles: Ponzi Scheme, a Madoff look-a-life or just another China rip-off?

 

Pre-open Indication: 3 Hits and 1 Miss

A 360-degree review of the who, why, when and what happened in the sector as the market and economics surround your portfolio’s defense or offence.

Never leave an investor uninformed! A trusted source of factual reporting!

The present and future value of RegMed Investors (RMi) NEWS sheds light on the stem, cell and gene therapy sector’s risks to share pricing and the sector’s upside acrobatics and potential downslides.

I write this blog/newsletter about – facts in evidence! 

 

Tuesday: The Dow closed DOWN -570.24 points or -1.49%, the S&P closed DOWN -80.48 points or -1.57% while the Nasdaq closed DOWN -325.26 points or -2.04%

 

Henry’omics:

We need to more than consider the economic environment - rising rates and inflation to comprehend the micro re “our” universe of cell and gene therapy companies …

Indexes dived to end the month of April …

Stocks are headed for their first losing month since October as rate cut expectations dropped significantly from where they were at the start of the year.

Diving in the month of April, the Dow (-4.3%), the S&P 500 (-3%) and Nasdaq (-3%) declined.

Economic Data Docket: The employment cost index, a measure of wages and benefits, added 1.2% in the March quarter, above the 1% consensus estimate from economists.

  • Consumer confidence board registered a reading of 97, below the downwardly revised 103.1 in March and missing the consensus estimate of 103.5. This was the lowest level for the index since July/22, though board officials said their measure of current conditions is still at a fairly healthy level and the headline index has been in a “relatively narrow range” for more than 2 years.

 

Monday’s RegMed Investors’ (RMi) opening bell: “what will be, will be! The expression is used to describe the notion that share pricing will decide the outcome of a course of events, even if and as volatile action is taken to try to alter it.” … https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/13439

 

Pre-open Indication: 3 Hits < Regenxbio (RGNX -$0.70), CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP -$1.84), Lenz Therapeutics (LENZ -$0.63)> and 1 Miss < Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY -$3.41)

 

All-time low:

bluebird bio (BLUE) at $0.87

Verve Therapeutics (VERV) at $5.96

uniQure NV (QURE) at $4.30

 

Advance/Decline (A/D) Line:

  • Tuesday’s advance/decline line at the open was negative with 8 incliner, 23 decliners and 4 flats; ending with a negative close of 7 incliners, 27 decliners and 1 flat
  • Monday’s advance/decline line at the open was positive with 27 incliner, 7 decliners and 1 flat; ending with a positive close of 26 incliners, 8 decliners and 1 flat

 

Ebb and flow of MY covered sector cell and gene therapy session daily “endings”:

Q2/24:

  • April, 16 negative and 6 positive closes

Q1/24:

  • March, 1 holiday, 8 positive and 12 negative closes
  • February, 1 holiday, 9 negative and 11 positive closes
  • January: 2 holiday, 12 negative and 8 positive closes

 

Key Metrics:

The iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology (IBB) and the SPDR S&P ETF (XBI) indicators:

  • Tuesday, the IBB was down -1.13% and the XBI was down -1.05%
  • Monday, the IBB was up +1.49% and the XBI was up +2.53%

The CBOE Volatility Index (VVIX: INDEX) tracked:

  • Tuesday was up +0.96 point or +6.47% at 15.62
  • Monday was down -0.34 point or -2.,26% at 14.69

 

Tuesday’s Closing Down (10 of 27):

  • Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY -$3.41 after Monday’s +$4.05),
  • CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP -$1.84 after Monday’s +$0.92),
  • Blueprint Medicine (BPMC -$1.76),
  • Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals (RARE -$1.48 after Monday’s -$0.22)
  • Beam Therapeutics (BEAM -$0.83 after Monday’s +$0.67),
  • Vericel (VCEL -$0.80 after Monday’s +$0.62),
  • Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS -$0.73),
  • Regenxbio (RGNX -$0.70 after Monday’s -$0.14
  • Agenus (AGEN -$0.64 after Monday’s +$1.07),
  • Lenz Therapeutics (LENZ -$0.63 after Monday’s +$0.78) <was Graphite Bio (GRPH)>,

Flat (1):

  • Harvard Apparatus RT (OTCQB: HRGN $0.00 after Monday’s $0.00)

Tuesday’s Closing Up (7 of 7):

  • Adverum Biotechnologies (ADVM +$0.19),
  • Solid Biosciences (SLDB +$0.08 after Monday’s -$0.19),
  • Prime Medicine (PRME +$0.06 after Monday’s +$0.435),
  • Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR +$0.05),
  • Cellectis SA (CLLS +$0.040,
  • UniQure NV (QUIRE +$0.02 after Monday’s -$0.14),

 

Q2/24 – April:

Tuesday closed negative with 7 incliners, 27 decliners and 1 flat

(4/29) Monday closed positive with 26 incliners, 8 decliners and 1 flat

Friday closed positive with 23 incliners, 11 decliners and 1 flat

Thursday closed negative with 6 incliners, 28 decliners and 1 flat

Wednesday closed negative with 9 incliners, 25 decliners and 1 flat

Tuesday closed positive with 23 incliners, 11 decliners and 1 flat

(4/22) Monday closed positive with 26 incliners, 6 decliners and 3 flats

Friday closed negative with 13 incliners, 21 decliners and 1 flat

Thursday closed negative with 8 incliners, 24 decliners and 3 flats

Wednesday closed negative with 7 incliners, 26 decliners and 0 flat

Tuesday closed negative with 6 incliners, 28 decliners and 1 flat

(4/15) Monday closed negative with 3 incliners, 30 decliners and 2 flats

Friday closed negative with 3 incliners, 32 decliners and 0 flats

Thursday closed negative with 14 incliners, 19 decliners and 2 flats

Wednesday closed negative with 5 incliners, 28 decliners and 2 flats

Tuesday closed positive with 20 incliners, 12 decliners and 3 flats

(4/8) Monday closed positive with 23 incliners, 12 decliners and 0 flat

Friday closed negative with 10 incliners, 23 decliners and 2 flats

Thursday closed negative with 6 incliners, 28 decliners and 1 flat

Wednesday closed negative with 17 incliners, 18 decliners and 0 flat

Tuesday closed negative with 2 incliners, 32 decliners and 1 flat

(4/1) Monday closed negative with 15 incliners, 20 decliners and 0 flat

 

The BOTTOM LINE: April’s over; and the next few months are sure to be bumpy.

  • The cell and gene therapy sector was hammered on Tuesday after bounding on Monday after Friday’s rebound

The old saying, "Sell in May and go away" is not just folklore — stock market history supports it.

  • History shows stock market performance tends to sag from May to October compared with the November-April period. Still, investors can expect low single-digit gains over the next six months.
  • But the results have been less dramatic in the last 10 years, with the November-April period gaining 5.5% vs. a 4% increase the other six months. And the gap has widened slightly over the last five years, to 6% vs. 4%, according to Dow Jones Market Data. <IBD>

Q1/24 Reporting Season, it’s all about LPS (loss-per-share), cash positions and runways:

  • Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals (RARE), AxoGen (AXGN), Blueprint Medicine (BPMC) on Thursday, 5/2;
  • Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) and Agenus (AGEN) on Tuesday, 5/7
  • Vericel (VCEL) on Wednesday, 5/8

 

Reiterating:  Is Agenus (AGEN preparing for an offering … $300 common stock <134,512,851 shares>, preferred stock, warrants and debt securities … Shelf Filing … Post Effective Amendment … reasoning for the “Share Reverse”?

Agenus (AGEN) shares dived -$0.64 after jumping Monday +$1.07 after Friday’s +$3.39, Thursday’s +$0.88, Wednesday +$0.96, Tuesday’s +$0.39, Monday’s $5.70 and last Friday’s $5.31 +$0.

•              4/12, a stock reverse of 1/20 split

•              Notice how AGEN is pushing its earnings release much earlier than is has in past!

https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001098972/2aeed437-11b5-4133-be70-d8c22ec43843.pdf

  • A sales agreement prospectus supplement that covers the potential offering, issuance and sale from time to time of up to 134,512,851 shares of Agenus’ common stock pursuant to a sales agreement with B. Riley Securities, Inc. (formerly B. Riley FBR, Inc.).

 

The top three (3) performing in the session:  

  • Tuesday: Adverum Biotechnologies (ADVM), Solid Biosciences (SLDB) and uniQure NV (QURE)
  • Monday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), Agenus (AGEN) and Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA)

The worst three (3) in the session:

  • Tuesday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), Blueprint Medicine (BPMC), and CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP)
  • Monday: Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals (RARE), Solid Biosciences (SLDB) and Regenxbio (RGNX)

 

BEWARE… How MANY TIMES AM I RIGHT … MORE than MOST!!

The Harvard Apparatus RT (OTC QB HRGN) Chronicles: shows how the “pimp/pump and promote” share pricing works with WHAT news for so long …my treatise is VALIDATED!

Yet a further SCREW-JOB for early and present investors ...

April closes:

  • 5 ups
  • 5 downs
  • 11 flats

Question, has its major shareholder and landlord, Harvard Bioscience (HBIO) in the midst of a lay-off; been left holding a depreciating “bag” of shares (5% or 697,112 shares – SC 13G/A filing) from its $4 M share of the wrongful death lawsuit settlement having been issued 4,000 shares of series E 8% convertible Preferred stock at a price of $1,000 per share to satisfy the indemnification obligations (10-K)?  How will HBIO protect itself and its asset/balance sheet when and who will NOT finance this OTCQB: HRGN pig with this its lipstick and lingering odor?

Did you notice how it barely trades unless volume is being “pumped.”  This question needs to be answered as HRGN is desperate to finance by any means as past Chinese private placement investors must be feeling … WHAT … TAKEN to the cleaners?

 

Welcome to my world of defining the “grey’ in our universe!

  • Right up front, “I also hate to be so negative or contrarian but, this is a NO spin zone and facts are its product; I can always be WRONG but … I am mostly EARLY!”

 

Opinions expressed are those of the author and are subject to change, and not intended to be a forecast of future events, a guarantee of future results, nor investment advice. Whether information or intelligence is good, bad, or somewhere in between; I put into context what is relevant and useful for investors.  All investments are subject to risks. Investors should consider investment objectives.

Henry McCusker, the editor, and publisher of RegMed Investors does not hold or have positions in securities referred to in this publication. Regulation Analyst Certification (Reg AC): The research analyst primarily responsible for the content of this report certifies the following under Reg AC: I hereby certify that all views expressed in this report accurately reflect my personal views about the subject company or companies and its or their securities.

I also certify that no part of my compensation was, is or will be, directly or indirectly, related to the specific recommendations or views expressed in this report.