September 15, 2020 7:55am

Peaks are usually followed by valleys 

Pre-open indications: 2 BUYs and 10 SELLs

News: Pluristem CEO Issues shareholder update <read more>

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Dow futures are UP +0.64% (+179 points), S&P futures are UP +0.67% (+23 points) and NASDAQ futures are UP +0.94% (+106 points)

 

U.S. stock futures ticked higher early Tuesday after Monday kicked off the week with a rally especially as seen in the RegMed, cell and gene therapy sector;

European stocks traded higher as investors shifted their focus to upcoming central bank meetings by the U.S. Fed, Bank of Japan and Bank of England as the pan-European Stoxx 600 added 0.5% by mid-morning;

Asia-Pacific stocks were mostly higher as investors watched China’s August economic data released earlier in the day.

  • Retail sales in China rose 0.5% in August from a year ago; the first positive report for the year so far according to the country’s National Bureau of Statistics. Retail sales for the first eight months of the year were down 8.6% from a year ago, the bureau said.

 

Henry’omics:

Monday’s strong session followed a slide for stocks in recent weeks that brought the Nasdaq into a correction, which means that the index fell more than 10% below its record high.

News: Pluristem’s shareholder update …  https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pluristem-ceo-issues-shareholder-113000540.html

The market highs do NOT reflect any re-opening activity in a just beginning of considering business openings, a 16% unemployment rate and mixed but, not total school openings – considered underlying fundamentals … hybrid positions won’t strengthen the economy in this period of time as needed.

 

Monday night’s post: RegMed Investors’ (RMi) closing bell: “sector basks in the sun from being oversold amid renewed hope for a vaccine”

  • The Nasdaq closed UP +203.11 points (+1.87%);
  • The IBB closed up +5.42% and XBI closed up +6.89%;
  • Sector volume was LOW with 12 of the 31-upside having higher than the 3-month average volume and the 2 of 3-downside having higher than the 3-month average volume;
  • The CBOE Volatility Index (VVIX: INDEX) was down -1.02 points or -3.80% at 25.85;
  • Monday’s percentage (%) of the 31-upside were +1.69% (BLUE) to +14.75% (VSTM) while the 3-downside ranges from -1.67% (AXGN) to -3.65% (RENE.L); 

 

 Q3 so far:

  • September, 2 positive closes, 7 negative closes and 1 holiday
  • August, 10 positive closes and 11 negative closes
  • July - 11 positive and 11 negative closes with 1 holiday

 

Companies in my headlights – It’s your decision; I provide an idea and context:

Maintaining Sell:

Biostage (BSTG) closed up +$0.04 to $1.41 after Friday’s -$0.35 to $1.37; well below the recent $4.00 private placement of 75, 000 unregistered shares (8/18/2020) and the another (2nd) 50,000 unregistered common shares (8/20/2020) <source 8-K, dated 8/20/2020>.

BUY:

Applied Genetic Technologies (AGTC) closed down -$0.17 to $4.38 after Friday’s $4.55, Thursday’s $5.03, Wednesday’s $5.26 and last Tuesday’s $6.13 and has a positive +$0.02 or +0.46% aftermarket indication;

bluebird bio (BLUE) closed up +$0.90 to $54.08 after Friday’s $53.18, Thursday’s $54.84 and Wednesday’s $57.34 and has a positive +$1.00 or +1.85% aftermarket indication;

SELL into Strength:

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY) closed up +$8.56 to $131.00 after Friday’s +$1.25 to $122.44 and has NO aftermarket (Friday) indication);

Athersys (ATHX) closed up +$0.21 to $2.22 and has a positive +$0.01 or +0.45% aftermarket indication;

BioLife Solutions (BLFS) closed up +$2.15 to $25.92 after Friday’s $23.77, Thursday’s $23.55 and Wednesday’s $23.11 and has NO aftermarket indication;

Cellectis SA (CLLS) closed up +$1.66 to $19.11 after Friday’s $, Thursday’s $17.45and Wednesday’s $17.16 and has a positive +0.21 or +1.10%% aftermarket indication;

Fate Therapeutics (FATE) closed up +$3.88 to $37.44 after Friday’s $33.56, Thursday’s $31.74, Wednesday’s $31.29 and last Tuesday’s $30.41 and has a negative -$0.04 or -0.11% aftermarket indication;

SELL:

Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics (BCLI) closed up +$0.77 to $14.14 and has a negative -$0.14 or -0.99% aftermarket indication;

CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) closed up +$4.73 to $84.71 after Friday’s -$1.82 to $79.98, Thursday’s -$3.45 to $81.80, Wednesday’s +$3.79, Tuesday’s -$0.56 to $81.46 and has a negative -$0.91 or -1.07% (Friday) aftermarket indication;

Editas Medicine (EDIT) closed up +$1.34 to $31.33 after Friday’s $29.99, Thursday’s $30.40 following Wednesday’s $30.95 and last Tuesday’s $29.25 with has a negative -$0.82 or -2.62% aftermarket indication;

Homology Medicine (FIXX) closed up +$0.69 to $10.68 after Friday’s $9.99, Thursday’s $10.12, Wednesday’s $10.25 and last Tuesday’s $10.18 with a negative -$0.28 or -2.57% aftermarket indication;

 

The BOTTOM LINE: Lately, the sector was a profit taking occasion, forced into being oversold and now to an overbought position

Many a time, others put the same light on the future as I do:

  • “The stock market’s September pullback was likely … the first of many as it follows a “stair-step” playbook … that echoes the rally off the financial-crisis low in 2009”, William Watt <one prominent Wall Street bull argued in a Monday note>;
  • “The 7% correction in the S&P 500 SPX, +1.27% over the past six trading sessions is likely the … first of a few 3-7% drawdowns followed by new highs …as the market stair-steps higher like the fall of 2009, driven by election-year angst and the extended nature of the market-cap-weighted indices,” said Tony Dwyer <another favorite and chief market strategist at Canaccord Genuity.

Momentum is running sprints, not a distance race; investors need to remain – cautious as September completes the third (Q3) quarter.

Same theme, different session: “Skim if you can trim, buy if it will fly and sell if compelled!”

 

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.