RegMed Investors’ (RMi) closing bell; losses chain the sector together

April 16, 2018 5:31pm

Through a sequence of instructions that tells a machine what to do as they infect our portfolios and we are teaching them what to do!

Living with algorithms as equities rise, fold and dive

Pre-open indication results:  4 HITs and 1 MISS

Out and about: Bellicum Pharmaceuticals (BLCM) proposes 7 M share offering

End of day briefing; the “numbers” speak!

Henry’omics:

Today’s moves … Investors are keeping an eye on the sessions moves that started down, stayed down until 1:30 a.m., settled neutral at the mid-day, stayed that way until 1:30 p.m. and closed to the downside.

The advance/decline line scenario of 40 covered companies:   

• The open was negative with the A/DL to 16/19 and 5 flat;
• The mid-day was neutral with an A/DL of 14/21 and 5 flat;
• The close concluded negative with an A/DL of 14/21 and 5 flat;

From the pre-open’s newsletter, “is a bounce is upon us; what’s considered a buying opportunity pricing? Speculation and sentiment both begin with an s…”

As I had stated, “futures are tilting higher on Monday, with number of economic data updates lined up for release, including retail sales and a home builder’s index. Enjoy the upside but, be ready to “kiss it goodbye” on little notice!”

What's more to say ...

Losses were broadly based as headwinds were strong as volume dried up; the sector still closed lower and trading ranges were slim which should likely continue.

Out and about:

Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (BLCM) has commenced an underwritten public offering of 7,000,000 shares of its common stock. The offering is subject to market and other conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the offering.

• Citigroup and Jefferies LLC are acting as lead book-running managers for the offering. Bellicum expects to grant the underwriters of the offering a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,050,000 shares of its common stock at the public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions.

Roll Call of the past 11 sessions of April’s closes (of 40 covered companies):

• Monday closed NEGATIVE with 21 decliners, 14 advancers and 5 flats;
• Friday closed barely NEGATIVE with 18 decliners, 17 advancers and 5 flats;
• Thursday closed POSITIVE with 8 decliners, 30 advancers and 2 flats;
• Wednesday closed NEUTRAL with 19 decliners, 19 advancers and 2 flats;
• Tuesday closed POSITIVE with 7 decliners, 32 advancers and 1 flats;
• Monday closed POSITIVE with 12 decliners, 23 advancers and 5 flats;
• Friday closed NEGATIVE with 32 decliners, 7 advancers and 1 flats;
• Thursday closed NEGATIVE with 25 decliners, 11 advancers and 4 flats;
• Wednesday closed POSITIVE with 11 decliners, 28 advancers and 1 flat;
• Last Tuesday closed POSITIVE with 19 decliners, 19 advancers and 2 flats;
• The previous Monday closed NEGATIVE with 9 decliners, 31 advancers and 0 flats

Pre-open indications: 4 HITs and 1 MISS

• Applied Genetic Technologies (AGTC) closed down -$0.15 – hit;
• Bellicum Pharmaceuticals (BLCM) closed down -$0.01 – hit;
• Biostage (BSTG) closed flat again at $2.60 – hit;
• uniQuire (QURE) closed down -$0.27 – miss;
• Verastem (VSTM) closed flat $4.14 – hit;

MY working five (5) trend lines:

… The greatest volume to the downside:  SGMO, XON, BLCM, IMUC and CYTX

… Upside volume was weighted to:  MDXG, NWBO, ADRO, VCEL and CUR

… Biggest $ downside:  RENE.L (-$3.50), BLUE (-$2.85), SGMO (-$1.90), XON (-$0.76) and FATE (-$0.39)

… Best moves to the $ upside:  RGNX (+$3.40), AXGN (+$0.95), ONCE (+$0.75), MDXG (+$0.44) and VCEL (+$0.30)

… Flats: VSTM, BSTG, ISCO, MESO and AST

Daily analytics:

U.S. stocks rose on Monday as fears of an escalating conflict in Syria eased for the moment, while some of the biggest U.S. companies reported strong quarterly results.

• The Dow gained 212.90 points to close at 24,573.04.
• The S&P 500 climbed 0.8% to 2,677.84.
• The NASDAQ advanced 0.7% to 7,156.28.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market,

• Monday traded at 16.56, down -4.88% …
• Friday traded at 17.41, down -5.84%
• Thursday traded at 18.49 , down -8.65 %
• Wednesday traded at 20.24, down -1.12%
• Tuesday traded at 20.47, down -5.97%
• Last Monday traded at 21.98, up +2.28%

The iShares Russell 2000 (IWM) indicated:

• Monday was UP +0.92%
• Friday was down -0.52%
• Thursday was up +0.67%
• Wednesday was up +0.22%
• Tuesday +1.86%
• Last Monday +0.12%

The iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology (IBB) indicated:

• Monday was down -0.68%
• Friday was down -0.71%
• Thursday +1.32%
• Wednesday -0.35%
• Tuesday +2.75%
• Last Monday +1.82%

The count - decliners versus gainers:

……. look at the differences in decliners:

• Monday’s decliners ranged from -0.11% <BLCM -$0.01> to -9.60% <SGMO -$1.90 > in 21 equities;
• Friday’s decliners ranged from -0.48% <NWBO -$0.0011> to -8.63% <IMUC -$0.02 > in 18 equities;
• Thursday’s decliners ranged from -0.14% <MDXG -$0.01 > to -5.49% <RENE.L -$4.50 > in 8 equities;
• Wednesday’s decliners ranged from -0.01% <ONCE -$0.01 > to -6.42% <RGNX -$2.40 > in 19 equities;
• Tuesday’s decliners ranged from -0.38% <BSTG -$0.01 > to -6.67% < AST -$0.10> in 7 equities;
• Last Monday’s decliners ranged from -0.02% <FCSC -$0.00 > to -12.65% <KOOL -$0.21 > in 12 equities;

Versus

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

• Monday’s gainers ranged from +0.04% <NWBO +$0.00 > to +9.83% <RGNX +$3.40> in 14 equities;
• Friday’s gainers ranged from +0.14% <QURE +$0.04> to +9.78% <AGTC +$0.45> in 17 equities;
• Thursday’s gainers ranged from +0.30% <BCLI +$0.01 > to +20.29% <BLCM +$1.39 > in 30 equities;
• Wednesday’s gainers ranged from +0.26% <IMUC +$0.001 > to +13.82% <FATE +$1.39 > in 19 equities;
• Tuesday’s gainers ranged from +0.62% <BCLI +$0.02 > to +18.92% <RGNX +$5.95> in 32 equities;
• Last Monday’s gainers ranged from +0.78% <BLCM +$0.05 > to +16.44% <QURE +$3.61 > in 23 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.