January 3, 2018 5:17pm

The sector advances with increasing decliners as the NASDAQ jumped 0.8% to a record

Reiterating, “Two (2) words – patience and discipline in stepping into the New Year as to momentum!”

 

Pre-open indications: 2 hits, 3 miss

 

Out and about:

Spark Therapeutics (ONCE +$1.92) Luxturna treats a rare eye disease that causes blindness. Its $425 K price tag per eye puts it at a total cost of $850 K for both eyes.

VistaGen Therapeutics (VTGN +$0.03) has granted Fast Track Designation by FDA to AV-101 for development as a potential adjunctive treatment for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD).

The Biostage (BSTG +$0.68) chronicles …

Wednesday’s results have implications to Thursday’s sector activity as a daily report may say little or a lot and it serves as insurance that all indications are being examined and evaluated!

 

Henry’omics:

From the pre-open’s newsletter, “…the upside, a game of cues …be very careful of the pump and/or dump agendas by the 12th of January. With JPMorgan next week after three (3) sessions this week and four (4) days next week; as I had stated, “While volume was all over the map, luckily to the upside; we are still playing chutes and ladders - the exciting game of ups and downs!” Two (2) words – patience and discipline in stepping into the New Year as to momentum!

Count our upside blessings, but don’t hold on to the “feeling” – take some profit to come back again – safety is my concern.

Always be prepared for adversity in the sector … and the market!

I haven’t heard much of any new data releases – other than a treatment pricing.

When volatility (in the sector) is high versus the end of the year and the month of December – review daily percentage changes in THE COUNT as compared to the DAILY ANALYTICS.

 

Watching the EOD closes:

·         Wednesday closed POSITIVE with 15 decliners, 23 advancers and 2 flats;

·         Tuesday closed POSITIVE with 7 decliners, 31 advancers and 2 flats;

·         Monday was New Year’s Day;

·         Friday closed NEGATIVE with 25 decliners, 14 advancers and 1 flat;

·         Thursday closed NEGATIVE with 20 decliners, 15 advancers and 5 flats;

·         Last Wednesday closed POSITIVE with 17 decliners, 20 advancers and 3 flats;

I see more downside tomorrow …

 

The advance/decline line scenario of 40 SCGT & RT covered companies:   

·         The open was positive with an A/DL of 23/15 and 2 flat ;

·         The mid-day was positive with an A/DL of 24/16 and 0 flat;

·         The close was positive with an A/DL of 23/15 and 2 flat;

 

 

MY working trend lines or indications:

… The greatest volume to the downside:  SGMO, RENE.L, MDXG, ONVO and IMUC

… Upside volume was weighted to:  VTGN, FCSC, XON, ADVM and JUNO

… Biggest $ downside: BLUE (-$2.15), QURE (-$0.34), ADRO (-$0.20), CLLS (-$0.19) and BLFS (-$0.17)

… Largest $ upside:  ONCE (+$2.45), RGNX (+$1.05), JUNO (+$0.74), ADVM (+$0.65) and XON (+$0.61)

… Flat: OSIR and AST

 

Pre-open indications:

  • Biostage (BSTGD) closed up +$0.55 – miss – be wary;
  • Cellectis SA (CLLS) closed down -$0.19 – hit;
  • Intrexon (XON) closed up +$0.61 – miss;
  • Neuralstem (CUR) closed down -$0.11 – hit;
  • Sangamo Therapeutics (SGMO) closed down -$0.15 – miss, many sold into the news;

 

Out and about:

Spark Therapeutics (ONCE) will charge $850 K per patient for its breakthrough gene therapy to treat a rare form of blindness, a lower than expected price that the company said reflects patient and insurer concerns about access and cost.

The product, approved in December by the Food and Drug Administration, is the first U.S.-approved gene therapy for an inherited disease.

ONCE said it has created a number of payment models to help reduce costs for insurers by allowing installment payments over a number of years and to ensure financial concerns do not hinder access for patients.

Luxturna has the highest list price of any drug, although the ultimate cost for patients and insurers may be less than for other expensive drugs that must be given every year for life.

Luxturna treats inherited retinal disease caused by defects in a gene known as RPE65, which tells cells to produce an enzyme critical for normal vision. The condition affects between 1,000 and 2,000 people in the United States.

The product works by delivering by an eye injection some 150 billion viral vector particles containing a correct copy of the RPE65 gene to retinal cells, restoring their ability to make the needed enzyme.

Clinical trials of Luxturna showed that 93% of participants experienced some improvement in their functional vision as measured by their ability to navigate obstacles in poor light after one year. It is unclear how long the benefit of the treatment will ultimately last. (Reuters)

VistaGen Therapeutics (VTGN) FDA has granted Fast Track Designation to AV-101 for development as a potential adjunctive treatment for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). The FDA's Fast Track process is designed to facilitate the development and review of new treatments for serious conditions with unmet medical need such as MDD.

 

The daily Biostage (OTCQB: BSTGD) chronicles …

BSTGD closes $4.2 M private placement … https://finance.yahoo.com/news/biostage-closes-4-2-million-140000425.html

This management team WIPED OUT 40 M of shareholders holdings and investment!

Opened at $0.87 (previous closed $1.20) then advanced +$0.55 or +45.36% to close up in a day’s range of $1.18 to $1.93 with 100,110 shares traded following the projected $1.32 post the 1-to-20 reverse split – a $4 M in-flow just followed a $30 M investment loss incurring a $47 M deficit!

  • Who and what’s “playing” the stock – day traders. NO scientist, partners other than those who want to be compensated. A CEO, CFO and 2 accountants don’t make a company who couldn’t pay their rent or communicate their issues to past “fleeced” shareholders …

I am NOT “eating” my negative declarations, my OPINION is still “FRAUD” and “COVER UP of MISDEEDS “by this management team!

  • It ain't over, more than many investors are agitating ... it will continue to spill over!!

Remember, day traders come and go as fast as a push on the SELL button with loyalty to NOTHING!

 

 

Daily analytics:

U.S. stock-market indexes pushed further into record territory, with the main benchmarks closing at fresh all-time highs Wednesday.

·         The S&P 500 rose 17.26 points, or 0.6%, to 2,713.07 to close at a new record for the second session in a row this year.

·         The Dow advanced DJIA, +0.40% 98.67 points, or 0.4%, to 24,922.68, also marking a closing record.

·         The NASDAQ rose 58.63 points, or 0.8%, to 7,065.53. The index has gained 2.4% over the past few sessions.

 

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, Wednesday traded at 9.15, down -6.35% …

  • Tuesday traded at 9.77, down -11.50%, Monday was New Year’s day, Friday traded at 10.79, up +5.99% after Thursday traded at 10.28, down -2.77% after last Wednesday traded at 10.47, up +2.15% …

 

Welcome to another day of the sector’s roller coaster …

… The iShares Russell 2000 (IWM) indicated:

·         Wednesday was up +0.12%

·         Tuesday was up +0.92%

·         Monday was New Year’s Day

·         Friday was down -0.80%

·         Thursday +0.40%

·         Last Wednesday -0.10%

 

… The iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology (IBB) indicated:

·         Wednesday was up +1.41%

·         Tuesday was up +2.41%

·         Monday was New Year’s Day

·         Friday was down -0.95%

·         Thursday was up +0.19%

·         Last Wednesday was up +0.14%

 

 

The count - decliners versus gainers:

……. look at the differences in decliners:

·         Wednesday’s decliners ranged from -0.62% <MDXG -$0.08> to -5.42% <CUR -$0.11> in 15 equities;

·         Tuesday’s decliners ranged from -0.63% <CAPR -$0.01> to -% <BCLI -$0.27> in 7 equities;

·         Monday was a holiday

·         Friday’s decliners ranged from -0.35% <FCSC -$0.00> to -6.52% <AST -$0.15> in 25 equities;

·         Thursday’s decliners ranged from -0.11% <BLUE -$0.20> to -8.28% <FATE -$0.55> in 20 equities;

·         Last Wednesday’s decliners ranged from -0.16% <BLFS -$0.01> to -6.21% <ONVO -$0.09> in 17 equities;

Versus

… Look at the percentage’s (%) and spreads …

·         Wednesday’s gainers ranged from +0.32% <KOOL +$0.01> to +17.81% <ADVM +$0.65> in 23 equities

·         Tuesday’s gainers ranged from +0.32% <STML +$0.05> to +18.02% <CUR +$0.31> in 31 equities

·         Monday was a holiday

·         Friday’s gainers ranged from +0.17% <MESO +$0.01> to +29.37% <BCLI +$0.89> in 14 equities

·         Thursday’s gainers ranged from +0.53% <AXGN +$0.15> to +5.96% <ISCO +$0.09> in 15 equities

·         Last Wednesday’s gainers ranged from +0.43% <NWBO +$0.001> to +8.22% <CAPR +$0.12> in 20 equities

 

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.