December 15, 2021 7:44am
The cell and gene therapy sector’s advance/decline lines continue to deteriorate, reflecting an ongoing bear market for many if not most sector stocks. New lows crushed new highs Tuesday.
Pre-open indications: 4 BUYs and 4 SELLs
Remember, Quadruple witching is on Friday, when options and futures on indexes and equities expire simultaneously.
If you’re looking for sector intel, ideas and facts or Insight in a volatile climate, RMi defines the extenuating factors of share pricing! I follow the dictum, quoting Churchill that “short words are best, and the old words when short are best of all.”
Remember that overnight and pre-open actions in futures don't necessarily translate into actual trading in the coming day’s session.
Dow futures are UP +0.05% (+19 points), S&P futures are UP +0.05% (+2 points) and NASDAQ futures are DOWN -0.08% (-13 points)
U.S. stock futures were fluctuating up and down in low percentages in pre-open trading on Tuesday as investors prepared for the highly anticipated Federal Reserve decision,
European stocks were cautiously higher,
Asian Pacific stocks were mixed as traders evaluated China’s economic growth outlook and braced for the Fed to unveil a faster withdrawal of monetary stimulus to tackle high inflation.
Economic Data docket: November’s retail sales data is slated to release at 8:30 a.m. ET; economists are expecting that retail sales rose 0.8% in November, compared to October’s growth of 1.7%, according to the Commerce Department.
- Members of the Federal Open Market Committee are set to hold their two-day policy-setting meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday, after which they will release their monetary policy statement and hold a press conference with Fed Chair Powell.
- The December statement will also be accompanied by an updated Summary of Economic Projections — the first since September — outlining members' expectations for economic conditions and interest rates. <Yahoo Finance>
- Many economists now expect that this month's meeting will serve as the platform for Fed officials to increase the rate of tapering of their asset-purchase program.
Henry’omics:
Will the “dot-plot”, the “tapering” and “raising the ceiling” or the “ease” be defined Fed Chair Powell at 2:30 p.m. news conference?
On Tuesday, the major averages slipped, exacerbated by downdrafts of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT), Mesoblast (MESO) and ReNeuron (RENE.L).
While the upside was thin driven by Ultragenyx (RARE), CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) and fate Therapeutics (FATE).
U.S. producer-price inflation hit a record of almost 10%, underlining the cost pressures rattling the American economy. The Fed on Wednesday is set to unveil a quicker tapering of bond purchases, paving the way for interest-rate hikes next year. The mix of high inflation, diminishing central bank support and omicron uncertainty is testing markets. <Bloomberg>
Note: Pfizer (PFE) reported fresh data showing that its Covid antiviral pill reduces serious illness and hospitalization in 89% of Covid patients. Shares of PFE were upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS, with the firm writing that it expects antiviral pill Paxlovid to reach sales of at least $14 billion next year, or 40% above expectations. UBS analyst Colin Bristow, in a research note Monday, also boosted the price target on the stock to $60 from $52. <Barron’s>
If you didn’t remember what happen at Tuesday night’s close, you won’t be prepared for today’s session:
Tuesday’s evening’s recap: another sector smack down. Sector equites are the can kicked down the sustainability road” … https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/12226
Q4: December, 5 negative and 5 positive closes
- November, 1 holiday 5 positive and 16 negative close to date
- October, 8 positive and 13 negative closes
Companies in my headlights – It’s your decision; I provide an idea and context:
Probabilities versus aftermarket/pre-open share pricing indication moves:
BUY:
Fate Therapeutics (FATE) closed up +$1.19 to $50.17 with a positive +$2.02 or +4.03% aftermarket indication.
BUY from SELL:
Mesoblast (MESO) closed down -$1.59 to $4.17 after Monday’s -$0.40 to $5.76 and has a positive +$0.37 or +8.87%, a day after news of NVS terminating their collaboration early.
Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT) closed down -$4.16 to $24.90 after Monday’s +$1.47 to $29.06 after Friday’s -$1.36 to $27.59 with a positive +$0.18 or +0.72% pre-open indication.
Editas Medicine (EDIT) closed down -$0.64 to $28.62 after Monday’s +0.25 to $29.26 and Friday’s -$1.52 to $29.01 with a positive +$0.07 or +0.24% pre-market indication.
Maintaining SELL:
CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) closed down -$0.64 to $28.62 after Monday’s $29.26 and has a negative -$0.07 or +0.09% aftermarket indication.
Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA) closed up +$1.02 to $115.27 after Monday’s +$0.24 to $114.25 after Friday’s +$1.96 to $114.01 with a negative -$2.07 or -1.80% pre-open indication
Biostage (OTCQB: BSTG) Tuesday closed flat with 500 shares traded after Monday’s flat with 1 share traded after Friday closed up +$0.20 with 9,669 shares traded, Thursday closed $0.00 with 26 shares traded following Wednesday closed flat with 520 shares traded after last Tuesday dropped -$0.20 with 2,980 shares traded. A serious case of manipulating share pricing by volume stimulation.
SELL from BUY:
Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) closed up +$0.08 to $30.25 after Monday’s +$0.70 to $30.17 with a negative -$1.50 or -4.96% pre-open indication.
The BOTTOM LINE: A one (1) session sector rally attempt ended looking sickly heading into the Fed meeting.
There are indications of strength in the sector but, as with Mesoblast (MESO) stock, which lost ground Tuesday and could/should see a possible bounce.
Investors should be taking a defensive approach.
From my “early” days, I “was learned” to “watch my corners” – one never knew what could be coming at you!
Let’s NOT forget that the stem, cell and gene therapy sector has been showing more than some strain for many weeks.
I don’t believe the market and sector conditions are favorable in the very short-term. The risk of market-shaking headlines is very high, at least until there's greater understanding of the omicron variant, and what that might mean for the economy.
Investors should consider taking further profits in winners, slashing strength gains, don’t sell into losses, they seem to bounce after depression.
The year is ending, take a more-defensive approach, cutting back exposure.
I’m STILL a “beware or the cautious man” whose focus has always been “warning analysis”.
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.
WHY do I keep reporting on Biostage (BSTG): When one sees an inextricable wrong and morally repulsive scenario; it takes courage, resolve and patience to stay the course of asking the questions without response!
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.
Regulation Analyst Certification (Reg AC): The research analyst primarily responsible for the content of this report certifies the following under Reg AC: I hereby certify that all views expressed in this report accurately reflect my personal views about the subject company or companies and its or their securities. I also certify that no part of my compensation was, is or will be, directly or indirectly, related to the specific recommendations or views expressed in this report.
Henry McCusker, the editor and publisher of RegMed Investors does not hold or have positions in securities referred to in this publication.
