September 23, 2020 5:41pm
Many equities tumble as the Nasdaq “poops” the bed as sentiment curdles
Pre-open indication results: 6 HITs and 2 MISSes
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The Dow closed DOWN -525.05 points (-1.92%), the S&P closed DOWN -78.65 points (-2.37%) while the Nasdaq closed DOWN -330.65 points (+3.02%)
Henry’omics:
Indexes fell sharply on Wednesday as September struggles continued.
The S&P 500 (-7.5%) and Dow are down (-5.9%) for the month while the Nasdaq has dropped 9.7%.
Investors have faced a slew of headwinds this month, including a rising number of global coronavirus cases and uncertainty around further fiscal stimulus, budget issues, election pandering, China issues and polarization of our government entities. <CNBC>
This morning, I stated in this a.m.’s newsletter – RegMed Investors’ (RMi) pre-open: sometimes it pays to get off the bus at an early stop … https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/11557
Pre-open indications: 6 HITS < bluebird bio (BLUE +$0.37), AxoGen (AXGN -$0.35); SELL into Strength - BioLife Solutions (BLFS +$0.20), Mesoblast (MESO -$0.59); CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP -$4.12), Sage Therapeutics (SAGE -$1.85) > and 2 MISS < Biostage (BSTG +$0.22) – being “pumped”, Athersys (-$0.06)>
RegMed/Cell and Gene therapy 35 covered equities’ Advance/Decline (A/D) lines: progressions and regressions …
- Wednesday opened negative at 10/24 and 1 flat, stayed negative at the mid-day at 14/19 and 2 flats, closing negative at 7/27 and 1 flat;
- Tuesday opened negative at 5/28 and 2 flats, stayed negative at the mid-day at 13/19 and 3 flats, closing positive at 20/13 and 2 flats;
- Monday opened negative at 1/32 and 2 flats, stayed negative at the mid-day at 1/33 and 1 flat, closing negative at 1/33 and 1 flat;
Key metrics:
- Sector volume was LOW with 3 of the 7-upside having higher than the 3-month average volume and more PRONOUNCED with the 9 of 27-downside having higher than the 3-month average volume;
- Wednesday’s percentage (%) of the 7-upside were +0.28% (GBT) to +14.57% (BSTG) while the 27-downside ranges from -0.08% (RARE) to -9.64% (PGEN);
Hammered in today’s market:
- CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP), uniQure NV (QURE), Sage Therapeutics (SAGE), Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA), Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) to name 5 of the 27 declining of the 35 covered
Jumping with share pricing momentum:
- ReNeuron (RENE.L), Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), bluebird bio (BLUE), Biostage (BSTG), BioLife Solutions (BLFS), MiMedx (OTC Pink sheets: MDXG), Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT) to name 7 of the 7 inclining of the 35 covered
The iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology (IBB) and the SPDR S&P ETF (XBI) indicators:
- Wednesday, the IBB closed down -1.27% and XBI closed down -3.17%
- Tuesday, the IBB closed up +0.76% and XBI closed up +0.62%
- Monday, the IBB closed down -2.56% and XBI closed down -3.55%
Wednesday’s (7 of 7) incliners:
- ReNeuron (RENE.L -$3.50 after Tuesday’s +$2.00);
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY +$0.86 after Tuesday’s +$2.722 and Monday’s -$1.34);
- bluebird bio (BLUE +$0.37);
- Biostage (BSTG +$0.22 (pumped) after Tuesday’s -$0.23 after Monday’s +$0.19)
- BioLife Solutions (BLFS +$0.20 after Tuesday’s +$0.58);
- MiMedx (OTC Pink sheets: MDXG +$0.16 after Tuesday’s -$0.07);
- Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT +$0.15 after Tuesday’s -$0.53);
Wednesday’s (10 of 27) decliners:
- CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP -$4.12 after Tuesday’s +$3.68);
- UniQure NV (QURE -$2.08 after Tuesday’s +$1.32 and Monday’s -$2.96);
- Sage Therapeutics (SAGE -$1.85);
- Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA -$1.47);
- Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS -$1.44);
- Editas Medicine (EDIT -$1.31);
- Vericel (VCEL -$0.83);
- Pluristem (PSTI -$0.66 after Tuesday’s -$0.09);
- Sangamo Therapeutics (SGMO -$0.62);
- Fate Therapeutics (FATE -$0.62);
Closing flat: 1 – Stemline Therapeutics (STML – acquired)
Percentage (%) movement/range statistics: 360 degrees comparisons
- Wednesday’s percentage (%) of the 7-upside were +0.28% (GBT) to +14.57% (BSTG) while the 27-downside ranges from -0.08% (RARE) to -9.64% (PGEN);
- Tuesday’s percentage (%) of the 20-upside was +0.07% (BCLI) to 5.25% (FIXX) while the 13-downside ranges from -0.31% (FATE) to -13.22% (BSTG);
- Monday’s percentage (%) of the 1-upside was +12.26% (BSTG) while the33-downside ranges from -0.86% (VYGR) to -10.64% (PGEN);
Sentiment and a few daily indicators:
Some say it better, “Investors are being whipsawed by conflicting COVID headlines and the growth vs. cyclical debate,” said Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge in a note. “The result is sentiment souring on both growth and cyclical for the moment (which obviously means stocks are for sale broadly).”
- Wednesday 6.89 cases
- Tuesday 6.86 cases
- Monday 6.81 M cases
Wednesday’s day’s death rate totaled 200,818 after Tuesday’s 200,005, Monday’s 199,513, Friday’s 197,655, Thursday’s 196,831 and last Wednesday’s 196,023 <Johns Hopkins University>
Stats:
Upside volume:
- Wednesday: 3 out of the 7-upside had higher than the 3-month average volume;
- Tuesday: 2 out of the 20-upside had higher than the 3-month average volume;
- Monday: 0 out of the 1-upside had higher than the 3-month average volume;
The CBOE Volatility Index (VVIX: INDEX) tracked:
- Wednesday was up +1.72 points or +6.40% at 28.58
- Tuesday was down -0.92 points or -3.31% at 26.86
- Monday was up +1.87 points or +7.24% at 27.71
Downside volume:
- Wednesday: 9 out of the 27-downside had higher than the 3-month average volume;
- Tuesday: 3 out of the 13-downside had higher than the 3-month average volume;
- Monday: 1 out of the33-downside had higher than the 3-month average volume;
September, the third month of Q3 …
Wednesday closed negative with 7 advancers, 27 decliners and 1 flat
Tuesday closed positive with 20 advancers, 13 decliners and 1 flat
Monday (9/21) closed negative with 1 advancer, 33 decliners and 1 flat
Friday closed positive with 29 advancers, 5 decliners and 1 flat
Thursday closed negative with 13 advancers, 20 decliners and 2 flats
Wednesday closed positive with 23 advancers, 10 decliners and 2 flats
Tuesday closed positive with 22 advancers, 12 decliners and 1 flat
Monday (9/14) closed positive with 31 advancers, 3 decliners and 1 flat
Friday closed negative with 16 advancers, 17 decliners and 2 flats
Thursday closed negative with 12 advancers, 20 decliners and 3 flats
Wednesday closed positive with 27 advancers, 5 decliners and 3 flats
Tuesday (9/10) closed negative with 14 advancers, 19 decliners and 2 flats
Monday was a holiday
Friday closed negative with 5 advancers, 28 decliners and 2 flats
Thursday closed negative with 2 advancers, 32 decliners and 1 flat
Wednesday closed negative with 18 advancers, 25 decliners and 2 flats
Tuesday (9/1) closed negative with 4 advancers, 29 decliners and 2 flats
The Bottom Line: Sticking with my morning admonishment; “New highs after a pummeling scare me during these September sessions <6 positive closes, 9 negative closes and 1 holiday> as the quarter (Q3) will soon come to an end. September continues to be a weak month for stocks with all three averages posting three (3) straight weeks of losses with the Nasdaq down -6.9% already this month.”
As I had stated, “The path to the next, of the next and the future new normal is likely to be bumpy amid uncertainty over the coronavirus, the US political environment, and US-China tensions.”
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.
