March 12, 2021 7:39am

Support wanes as resistance firms while market forces remain volatile

Pre-open indications:  0 BUYs and 9 SELLs

Companies mentioned this a.m.: SELL: AXGN, BSTG, BLFS, BLUE, CLLS, CRSP, EDIT, NTLA, RARE

RMi’s daily report is a primer that may say little or a lot; yet it serves as insurance that all indications are being examined and evaluated.


Dow futures are UP +0.07% (+19 points), S&P futures are DOWN -0.48% (-19 points) and NASDAQ futures are DOWN -1.73% (-225 points)

 

U.S. stock indexes traded lower early Friday …

European markets retreated slightly as the pan-European Stoxx 600 fell -0.6% by late morning,

Asia-Pacific markets moved cautiously higher

 

Data Docket: the U.K. economy shrank by 2.9% in January from the previous month, official figures showed Friday, a less severe contraction than expected as the country reentered nationwide lockdown.

 

Henry’omics:

The 10-year yield jumped; rekindling fears that rising rates will take the comeback momentum out of equities …

The Nasdaq is up 3.7% so far this week and is outperforming both the S&P 500 and the Dow over the period although (the Nasdaq) is clawing its way out of a 10% correction it suffered earlier this month and remains 5.48% below its own record that it set in February.

 

Thursday’s evening’s recap: “stimulus bill signing elevates sector from sleeping with the fishes” … https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/11809

  • The Nasdaq closed UP +329.84 points (+2.52 %);
  • The IBB closed up +2.82% and XBI closed up +3.87%
  • Sector volume was LOW with 1 of the 28-upside having higher than the 3-month average volume with the volume of 1 of 6-downside having higher than the 3-month average volume;
  • The CBOE Volatility Index (VVIX: INDEX) was down -0.66 points or -2.93% at 21.90;
  • Thursday’s percentage (%) of the 28-upside were +0.77% (MESO) to +11.12% (NTLA) while the 6-downside ranges from -0.1.26% (BLUE) to -8.67% (BSTG);

March: 4 positive, 4 negative and 1 neutral closes

February: 9 positive, 10 negative closes and 1 holiday

January: 10 positive, 9 negative closes and 1 holiday

 

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

Maintaining Sell: Questions continue …

Biostage (BSTG) closed down again to -$0.13 to 41.37 with 1,153 shares traded after Wednesday’s -$0.10 to $1.50 with 1,500 shares traded, Tuesday’s -$0.00 with 1,300 shares traded, Monday’s -$0.03 to $1.60 with 6,200 shares traded (pumped re promoted”) after being flat Friday with 217 shares traded. Reiterating …

Question#1: Has Jason Chen, the chairman of the Board condoned many of the past year and months transactions having been made aware of many operational and financing “challenges”?

Question#2: Should Mrs. bin Zhao of DST Capital, BSTG’s major funder be interviewed by regulatory bodies to validate the past particulars of stock placements? (Those securities are usually issued through private placements, Regulation D offerings)

  • Selling unregistered shares is typically considered a felony (from government regs), but there are exceptions to this rule. SEC Rule 144 lays out the conditions under which unregistered shares may be sold: a few are …
  • They must be held for a prescribed period;
  • There must be adequate public information about the security’s historical performance;
  • The sale must be of less than one percent (1%) of shares outstanding and less than one percent (1%) of the previous four weeks’ average trading volume;
  • All normal trading conditions that apply to any trade must be met;
  • Sales of more than 500 shares or more than $10,000 worth of shares must be pre-registered with the SEC. An exception to this condition occurs if the seller is not associated with the company that issued the unregistered shares (and has not been associated with it for at least three months) and has owned the shares for more than one year.

Question#3: is there an issue re un or even solicited investment offers to U.S and foreign national individuals - checks were sent to and cashed to/by Mrs. bin Zhao’s – copies of multiple TD bank and B of A checks and deposit slips EXIST.

Question#4: Which also brings up a question of legal, regulatory and legitimacy of gifting for re-selling these restricted and unregistered shares by Mrs. Bin Zhao? Do they pass the regulatory net worth test, definition of risk parameters that underscore the “going concern” issue of Biostage as a public company?

Question#5: Don’t these questions of issues put MORE governmental, fiduciary and transparency responsibility on the new board and audit committee member, Herman Sanchez and RSM US LLP as to the potentials or the possibilities of SEC investigation(s)?

MINORITY PUBLIC shareholders are waiting, watching and weighting responses to MAINTAIN their RIGHTS.

 

Maintaining SELL:

Cellectis SA (CLLS) closed up +$1.19 to $21.32 after Wednesday’s -$1.52 to $20.13 after Tuesday’s +$3.37 to $21.65, Monday’s +$0.09 to $18.28 and last Friday’s $18.19 with a negative -$0.65 or -3.05% pre-market indication.

Ultragenyx (RARE) closed up +$6.89 to $126.85 after Wednesday’s $119.96, Tuesday’s $124.22, Monday’s $115.00 and last Friday’s $118.50 with a negative -$7.58 or -5.98% aftermarket indication.

BioLife Solutions (BLFS) closed up +$3.27 to $39.61 after Wednesday’s $36.34, Tuesday’s $35.89, Monday’s $32.95 and last Friday’s $35.32 with a negative -$0.05 or -0.13% aftermarket indication.

bluebird bio (BLUE) closed down -$0.41 to $32.07 after Wednesday’s +$2.44 to $32.48 after Tuesday’s $30.04, and Monday’s $28.68 with a negative -$0.40 or -1.25% aftermarket indication.

 

Falling Knife:

AxoGen (AXGN) closed down -$0.32 to $20.84 after Wednesday’s $21.16, Tuesday’s $20.71, Monday’s $19.41 and last Friday’s $20.30 with a negative -0.29 or -1.39% pre-market indication.

 

SELL into Strength:

CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) closed up +$9.73 to $133.88 after Wednesday’s -$1.48 to $124.15, Tuesday’s +$12.03 to $125.63, Monday’s -$1.03 to $113.62 after last Friday’s -$0.84 to $114.65 with a negative -$3.96 or +2.96% pre-market indication.

Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA) closed up +$6.60 to $65.97 after Wednesday’s +$2.23 to $59.37, Tuesday’s +$10.55 to $57.14, Monday’s -$5.22 to $46.59 and last Friday’s -$2.61 to $51.81 with a negative -$1.75 or -2.65% pre-market indication.

Editas Medicine (EDIT) closed up +$0.66 to $47.32 after Wednesday’s $46.66, Tuesday’s $45.33, Monday’s $40.54 and last Friday’s $41.63 with a negative -0.33 or -0.70% pre-market indication.

 

The BOTTOM LINE: I’m STILL espousing “Selling into Strength” as there exists a tug-of-war taking place in the sector as investors wade through volatile trading.

It is said that, inflation and rising rates would likely remain a central theme for investors this period; my concern is where are the new buyers of cell and gene therapy coming from as many have suffered from the multiple downside rotations that … seem to return pricing levels.

I STILL am a “beware or the cautious man” whose focus has always been “warning analysis” … earnings’ season is NOT over … my advice, trim and skim … if one can!”

Many talk of horizons; “as I have said last week, my horizon is usually a Friday’s close …”

 

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.