February 6, 2019 6:11pm

Tomorrow, Thursday begins the sector’s quarterly LPS (loss-per-share) “earnings” <most time a misnomer> season.

The largest material impact to share pricing will be guidance to FY19!

 

Pre-open Indication: 4 HITs and 2 MISS (one is about selling into strength and the second solidifying a portfolios value and “powder”)

Out and about: Shares of Fate Therapeutics (FATE) were up +$0.34 or +2.45% to $14.19% as the FDA cleared its IND application for FT516, a potential therapy for patients with certain blood cancers.

 

It’s not hard to be right so often, I start early, stay involved and leave late and i am NOT "indentured" to ANY financial institution!   

RMi outlines preludes and aftermaths defining the daily dose of factors, investment thesis and objectivity!

 

Markets and indexes:

  • The Dow closed down -21.22 points or -0.08% to 25,390.30
  • The S&P closed down -6.09 points or -0.22% to 2,731.61
  • The NASDAQ was down -26.80 points or -0.36% to 7,375.28

 

Henry’omics:

The sector was sold into on Wednesday as markets digested President Trump's second State of the Union address.

Wednesday's move down comes a day after the major indexes rose broadly. On Tuesday, the Dow gained more than 150 points, while the S&P 500 rose +0.47% and NASDAQ rose 0.7%.

Tomorrow, Thursday begins the sector’s review of quarterly LPS (loss-per-share) “earnings” <many times a misnomer>.

The real story will be about guidance to FY19!

Bouncing to the upside: GBT (+$2.05), ONCE (+$1.60), SAGE (+$1.26) and BLUE (+$1.01)  

 

Out and about:

Shares of Fate Therapeutics (FATE) were up +$0.34 or +2.45% to $14.19% Wednesday after announcing the FDA had cleared its IND application for FT516, a potential therapy for patients with certain blood cancers.

  • FT516 is a natural killer cell product engineered to make a surface protein called the CD16 Fc receptor. CD16 is a surface receptor that helps regulate an immune response where natural killer cells bind to and kill cancer cells. Cancer patients can have reduced CD16, inhibiting their bodies' tumor-killing responses.
  • FT516's CD16 Fc receptor has been modified so that it will not have this problem -- the idea is that administering this therapy will allow for a better anti-tumor response in cancer patients. FATE said its initial study of FT516 will assess the safety and tolerability of three weekly doses of the therapy to treat certain later-stage blood cancers.
  • Shares of FATE have gained 8% in the year to date.

 

Closing to the downside was: RGNX (-$1.76), BMRN (-$1.63 after yesterday’s -$0.82), QURE (-$1.12), RENE.L (-$1.00) and SLDB (-$0.70)

 

As I stated this morning in the pre-open … “pressures could be brought to bear; the State-of-the Union address went after high drug prices … Markets will be lower with a headline risk or not?”

The advance/decline line scenario of 45 covered companies:  

  • The open was negative with the A/DL to 14/28 and 3 flats;
  • The mid-day was neutral with an A/DL of 22/22 and 1 flat;
  • The close was negative with an A/DL of 20/24 and 1 flat;

Pre-open indications: 4 HITs and 2 MISS

  • bluebird (BLUE) closed up +$1.01 – miss;
  • BioLife Solutions (BLFS) closed down -S0.21 – hit;
  • CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) closed up +0.19 – hit;
  • Editas Medicine (EDIT) closed down -$0.04 – hit;
  • Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA) closed up +$0.07– hit;
  • Vericel (VCEL) closed down -$0.37 – miss;

Also shuffling to a bottom: ALNY (-$0.54), VCEL (-$0.37), STML (-$0.31) and AXGN (-$0.29)

Closing FLAT … Verastem Oncology (VSTM) after yesterday’s retracement of -$0.08 from Monday’s +$0.12) post last night’s aftermarket take-down of -$0.04 or -1.19%.

Athersys (ATHX) closed down -$0.01 to $1.59; with January ’19 starting at $1.48 while Feruary’18 was priced at $1.69. What’s the deal with the “option” with Helios, it’s still a “Sword of Damocles” over its head>

BSTG (closed up +$0.13 after yesterday’s dive of -$0.05) – dilution after a warrant sale is not an upside story; maybe it was the cash; it might extend the company a quarter and that is operating LEAN.

Histogenics (HSGX) closed up +$0.0004 to $0.17 – another shareholder criminal after an offering of $0.66, as I called it – “a sucker’s bet”. WHY haven’t there been legal suits against their BOD – there should be!

The CRISPR peer group is dicing after a pop and a big dive – oversold, overbought - the newest of trading “vehicles”:

  • CRSP (closed up +$0.19 after Tuesday’s  -$0.14,  Monday’s +$0.66, Friday’s -$0.51, Thursday’s +$0.19 and last Wednesday’s +$1.27,
  • EDIT (closed down again -$0.04 after Tuesday’s -$0.77,  Monday’s +$0.31, Friday’s -$0.13, Thursday’s +$0.45 and last Wednesday’s +$0.99 while
  • NTLA (closed down again -$0.03 after Tuesday’s -0.72 , Monday’s  +$0.47, Friday’s -$0.10,Thursday’s +$0.38 and last Wednesday’s +$0.77
  • There are a trading vehicle, and I am also surprised their IR/PR have not cracked the door to speak to the “pundit” who INFLUENCE the share pricing – maybe they think there are above it?

Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT jumped again +$2.05 after Tuesday’s +$0.07, Monday’s +$0.36, Friday’s +$0.53, Thursday’s +$0.43 and last Wednesday’s +$2.58 following the previous Tuesday’s +$0.22 to $44.90) – it’s getting RICH and a target.

 

Daily analytics:

Past session’s history lesson, the iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology (IBB) closed: 3 negatives in a row …

  • Wednesday was down -0.16% after NOT indicating in the pre-market;
  • Tuesday was down -0.18% after NOT indicating in the pre-market;
  • Monday was down -0.03% after NOT indicating in the pre-market;
  • Friday was up +0.53% after NOT indicating in the pre-market;
  • Thursday was up +1.38% after NOT indicating in the pre-market;
  • Last Wednesday was up +0.68% after indicating a negative -0.3% in the pre-market;

 

Tonight’s percentage (%) indicators: 

  • Ranged of the 20 upside was +0.28% (FIXX) to +5.83% (BCLI) while the 24 downside ranged from -0.19% (EDIT) to -6.25% (PSTI) with 1 flat close (VSTM).

Volume stat: 

  • 4 out of the 20 upside had higher (than the 3 month average) volume
  • 6 out of the 24 downside experienced greater volume (than the 3 month average)

 

Daily volume metrics:

… Greatest volume (descending) to the downside: 

  • ONVO, BTX, ALNY, BMRN and EDIT

… Upside volume was weighted to:

  • HSGX, SGMO, XON, FATE and GBT

 

February sessions:

Wednesday closed NEGATIVE with 24 decliners, 20 advancers and 1 flat;

Tuesday closed NEGATIVE with 26 decliners, 15 advancers and 4 flat;

Monday closed POSITIVE with 16 decliners, 27 advancers and 2 flat;

Friday closed POSITIVE with 14 decliners, 29 advancers and 2 flat;

 

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.