December 7, 2017 7:59am

After a week of sector fatalities ...

Get the crazy glue to seal the wound before it bleeds the portfolio out

 

Hopefully, the algorithms will re-compute the opportunity of the oversold  

 

Pre-open indications:  short and non-sweet, 6 BUYs and 3 SELL

Out and about: Fibrocell (FCSC) has priced an offering of 13.836 M shares at $0.77. The price at the close was $1.00 with a pre-market indication is a NEGATIVE -$0.23 or -23% – SELL;

 

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Higher open expected

Dow futures are DOWN -0.09% (-21 points) and NASDAQ futures are UP +0.25% (+16 points)

 

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly positive open on Thursday, as investors await more developments concerning an overhaul of the U.S. tax system.

European markets were slightly higher as investors reacted to merger and acquisition news and looked ahead to fresh economic data.

Asian markets closed mixed, as the Hang Seng Index and Nikkei 225 recouped some losses after falling around 2% on Wednesday. 

 

Issues that will affect the trading day: the muted trading performance in Asia and in Europe on Thursday.

Data docket: jobless claims are expected to come out at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed by Quarterly Services Survey data at 10 a.m. ET. Consumer credit is expected to be released later on in the day, at 3 p.m. ET.

Issues on the political front: The overhaul in the U.S. tax system continues to sway market sentiment.

 

Henry’omics:

From Wednesday night’s closing bell post, “… another day of woe to a cell therapy portfolio. The sector open down which continued even lower to the close. No support, resistance elevates as buyers depart with traders selling into many upsides.”

As I had stated, “Investors are becoming more risk averse as traders reap any profit and algorithms compute on these same weaknesses.”

RegMed and cell therapy stocks have more than lagged recently with the NASDAQ biotech ETF (IBB) declining for three-straight sessions and is down more than 10% from its October high.

On Wednesday, the ETF broke below its 200-day moving average, which has proven solid support for the IBB for much of 2017. This is a red flag for the stocks into year-end and into 2018.

The iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology (IBB) indicated:

  • Thursday's indication is +0.12%    
  • Wednesday was down -0.73%
  • Tuesday -0.67%
  •  Monday -1.58%
  • Friday +0.42%
  • Last Thursday +1.44%

 

Bottom line: sector stocks just broke below their 200-day moving average, which could have negative implications …

 

The RegMed and cell therapy sector closed NEGATIVE on Wednesday, Tuesday, Monday and Friday and POSITIVE last Thursday.

The cell therapy sector’s record over 1 session (of 40 covered companies):

·         Wednesday closed NEGATIVE with 29 decliners, 7 advancers and 4 flats

·         Tuesday closed NEGATIVE with 21 decliners 18 advancers and 1 flat;

·         Monday closed NEGATIVE with 32 decliners, 7 advancers and 1 flat;

The cell therapy sector’s record over the last 4 sessions (of 43 covered companies):

·         Friday closed NEGATIVE with 23 decliners, 16 advancers and 4 flat

·         Last Thursday closed POSITIVE with 11 decliners, 28 advancers and 4 flats;

 

 

What are today’s indications?

Watch list:

  • The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology (IBB) is indicating a POSITIVE +0.12% in Thursday’s pre-market;
  • The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) is indicating a POSITIVE +0.31% in Thursday’s pre-market;
  • The Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) is NOT indicating in Thursday’s pre-open;
  • The iShares Russell 2000 (IWM) is indicating a POSITIVE +0.03% in Thursday’s pre-open

 

 

Companies in my headlights:

bluebird bio (BLUE) closed down -$3.25 to $159.40 with 904.3 K shares traded after Tuesday’s +$0.35 to $162.65 with 563.6 K shares traded after Monday’s  -$8.80 to $162.30 with 722.8 K shares traded <3 month average = 780.7 K shares>   The aftermarket indication is a POSITIVE +$0.10 or +0.06%. Still oversold – Maintaining BUY;

Capricor (CAPR) closed down -$0.05 to $1.80 with 172.7 K shares traded <3 month average = 2.231 M shares>. There is still the “Sword of Damocles” issue of a financing over its share price having been announced before the completion by HC Wainright – Maintaining SELL;

Fate Therapeutics (FATE) closed down -$0.10 to $3.94 after Tuesday’s -$0.13 to $4.04 with 165.2 K shares traded after Monday’s $4.17 (-$0.22). FATE partnered with the University of California San Diego to develop off-the-shelf, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-targeted natural killer (NK) cell cancer immunotherapies – Maintaining BUY;

Fibrocell (FCSC) closed down -$0.05 to $1.00 with 72 K shares traded <3 month average = 156.9 K shares>. FCSC has priced an offering of 13.836 M shares at $0.77. The pre-market indication is a NEGATIVE -$0.23 or -23% – SELL;

Juno Therapeutics (JUNO) closed up +$1.36 to $54.56 after Tuesday’s -$1.46 to $53.20 with 1.45 M shares trading after Monday’s -$1.44 to $68.64 with 417.8 K shares traded <3 month average = 465.7 K. November started at $78.56 had a high of $82.06 and a low of $68.25 on 11/14 while October ended at $80.90 having started at $89.37 – Oversold even after being up, Maintaining BUY;

Pluristem (PSTI) closed flat at $1.43 with 270.8 K shares traded <3 month average =680.5 K shares>. PSTI will present data from its P2-equivalent study of PLX-R18 cells for the treatment of acute radiation syndrome (ARS) at the American Society of Hematology’s (ASH) 59th Annual Meeting to be held in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 9-12, 2017. News usually motivates, with a +$0.02 or +1.40% - BUY;

Regenxbio (RGNX) closed up +$1.25 to $29.45 with 198.9 k shares traded <3 month average = 363.9 K shares>. December started out at $28.90 following Novembers end at $28.10 and start at $28.00 with a low of $26.00 and a high of $29.70 - Maintaining BUY;

Spark Therapeutics (ONCE) closed down -$1.26 to $69.71 with 455.5 K shares traded after Tuesday’s  +$2.33 to $70.97 with 658 K shares traded after Monday’s -$1.44 to $68.64 with 417.8 k shares traded <3 month average = 470.8 K shares>. November started at $80.08, saw a high of $82.06 and a low of $68.25. ONCE  and Pfizer (PFE) had announced that The New England Journal of Medicine has published interim data as of July 25, 2017, from the P1/2 clinical trial of SPK-9001, an investigational gene therapy for hemophilia B. With a cumulative follow-up of 492 weeks’ observation of the first 10 adult male participants, the mean steady-state factor IX activity was 34 percent of normal (range of 14-81 percent) following a single administration of investigational SPK-9001. The annualized bleeding rate (ABR) was reduced 97 percent, from a mean rate of 11.1 events per year before vector administration to 0.4 events per year after vector administration (p=0.02), while factor IX concentrate use was reduced 99 percent (p=0.004). – Oversold – Maintaining BUY;

VistaGen (VTGN) closed up +$0.87 to $1.80 with 40.68 M shares traded <3 month average = 195 K shares>. A process patent set off the surge, VTGN has enough problems in the development program; an Icarus candidate – Maintaining SELL;

 

 

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.