March 4, 2022 4:57pm

Strong jobs report overshadowed Ukraine killing fields, which also initiated risk aversion and a cell and gene therapy sector flight to the downside

Pre-open indications: 5 Hits and 3 Miss

The Biostage (BSTG) Chronicles: shows how the “pimp/pump and promote” works on Friday closing down -$0.44 with 1,303 shares traded 

What I provide is an intelligence daily. RMi outlines a daily bell weather of “indications” about what you need to know; it’s what could happen or materialize after the opening and what might happen during the session.

Week in review

Who else is tracking a broad grouping of cell and gene therapy equities – can you afford to not read the facts supported by real numbers?

If I have learned one thing as a former research analyst, venture and public fund investor now a journalist; it is that your life and your bank account are largely tied to your knowledge of price movements and questioning pricing targets.

 

The Dow closed DOWN -179.86 points (-0.53%); the S&P closed DOWN -34.62 points (-0.79%) while the Nasdaq closed DOWN -224.50 points (-1.66%)

 

Henry’omics:

Indexes declined on Friday as concerns over the intensifying war in Ukraine overshadowing data that showed an acceleration in jobs growth last month.

The Labor Department's closely watched employment report showed jobs grew by a more than expected 678,000 last month and that the unemployment rate fell to 3.8%, the lowest since February 2020.

For the week, the S&P 500 and Dow both fell 1.3%, while the Nasdaq gave up 2.8%.

The CBOE volatility index, also known as the fear gauge traded at 31.98 upon the close.

 

52-week lows:

  • bluebird bio (BLUE) a low of $5.09
  • Caribou Biosciences (CRBU) a low of $8.55
  • Cellectis SA (CLLS) a low of $3.73,

 

RegMed Investors’ (RMi) pre-open: “scary markets out-there, careful as you go. Attention is focused on the war on Ukraine as a huge Ukraine nuclear power plant was on fire while being seized by Russian troops. Zaporizhzhia is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and one of the world's 10 largest.” …  https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/12327

 

RegMed/Stem/Cell and Gene therapy’s 35 covered equities’ Advance/Decline (A/D) lines: what happened …

  • Friday opened negative at 10 up/25 downs and 1 flat, stayed negative at the mid-day at 3/33, ending with a negative close of 2/34;
  • Thursday opened negative at 8 up/25 downs, 3 flats, slipped further at 10 a.m. 3/33 and 1flat, stayed negative at the mid-day at 5/31, ending with a negative close of 5/30 and 1 flat;
  • Wednesday opened negative at 14 up/18 downs, 2 flats and 1 acquired, flipped positive at the mid-day at 19/15 and 1 acquired, ending with a positive close of 20/15, 1 flat and 1 acquired;
  • Tuesday opened positive at 21 up/12 downs, 1 flat and 1 acquired, stayed positive at the mid-day at 19/15 and 1 acquired, ending with a negative close of 15/18, 1 flat and 1 acquired;
  • Monday opened negative at 6 up/26 downs, 2 flats and 1 acquired, flipped positive at the mid-day at 20/13, 1 flat and 1 acquired, ending with a positive close of 18/16 and 1 acquired;

 

Pre-open Indications: 5 Hits < Biostage (BSTG -$0.44), BioLife Solutions (BLFS -$0.70), Beam Therapeutics (BEAM -$3.75), Editas Medicine (EDIT -$0.68), CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP -$1.00)> 3 Miss < Cellectis SA (CLLS -$0.26), Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT -$0.96), Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA -$5.93)>      

 

UC Berkeley loses CRISPR patent case, invalidating licenses it granted gene-editing companies https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/12320 - added more commentary

RegMed/Cell and Gene Therapy Earnings Scorecard Q4/21 and FY21 Results … https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/11628  … (CLLS)

 

The Biostage (BSTG) Chronicles: shows how the “pimp/pump and promote” works on Friday closing down -$0.44 with 1,303 shares traded after Thursday as 487 shares traded moving the share price +$0.25 after Wednesday as 649 shares appeared pushing the share price +$0.34 after Tuesday as 3,271 shares appear raising the share price +$0.59 to have it close -$0.04 with an additional 278 shares traded after Monday with 687 shares traded +$0.37 just before the close

  • WHO is BUYING these shares of a company with a 3-year-old IND, NO clinical trial initiation, a terminal death lawsuit overhang and a dwindling cash position?
  • By use of the pump/promote process; is BSTG preparing to register the outstanding private placement (PP) shares for a reverse to initiate an offering - they’re NOT going ANYWHERE without a cash inflow.

 

Key Metrics:

  • Friday - Sector volume was LOW with 0 of the 2-upside having higher than the 3-month average volume with LOW volume of 2 of 34-downside having higher than the 3-month average volume
  • Thursday - Sector volume was LOW with 1 of the 5-upside having higher than the 3-month average volume with LOW volume of 5 of 30-downside having higher than the 3-month average volume
  • Wednesday - Sector volume was LOW with 3 of the 20-upside having higher than the 3-month average volume with LOW volume of 0 of 13-downside having higher than the 3-month average volume
  • Tuesday - Sector volume was LOW with 6 of the 15-upside having higher than the 3-month average volume with LOW volume of 4 of 18-downside having higher than the 3-month average volume
  • Monday - Sector volume was LOW with 3 of the 18-upside having higher than the 3-month average volume with LOW volume of 3 of 16-downside having higher than the 3-month average volume;

The iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology (IBB) and the SPDR S&P ETF (XBI) indicators:

  • Friday  the IBB closed down -1.50% and XBI closed down -3.1%
  • Thursday  the IBB closed down -1.29% and XBI closed down -3.09%
  • Wednesday  the IBB closed up +0.53% and XBI closed up +0.25%
  • Tuesday  the IBB closed down -0.53% and XBI closed down -0.82%
  • Monday  the IBB closed down -0.17% and XBI closed up +0.13%

The CBOE Volatility Index (VVIX: INDEX) tracked:

  • Friday was up +1.50 points or +4.92% at 31.98
  • Thursday was down -0.12 points or -0.39% at 30.62
  • Wednesday was down -2.57 points or -7.74% at 30.74
  • Tuesday was up +3.17 points or +10.51% at 33.32
  • Monday was up +2.49 points or +9.13% at 30.11

 

Jumping with share pricing momentum (2 of 2):

  • Pluristem (PSTI +$0.18 after Thursday’s +$0.030,
  • Caribou Biosciences (CRBU +$0.15),

Hammered in today’s market (10 of 34):

  • Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA -$5.93 after Thursday’s -$13.42, Wednesday’s +$4.54 and Tuesday’s -$19.00),
  • Beam Therapeutics (BEAM -$3.75 after Thursday’s -$6.40, Wednesday’s +$0.70, Tuesday’s -$4.85 and Monday’s -$3.60)
  • Vericel (VCEL -$1.35 after Thursday’s -$2.50, Wednesday’s +$2.63 and Tuesday’s -$0.42),
  • Ultragenyx (RARE -$1.30 after Thursday’s -$3.44),
  • uniQure NV (QURE -$1.12 after Thursday’s -$1.22, Wednesday’s +$0.64 and Tuesday’s +$0.49),
  • CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP -$1.00 after Thursday’s -$4.59, Wednesday’s +$1.34 and Tuesday’s -$3.93),
  • Global Blood therapeutics (GBT -$0.96),
  • Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS -$0.94),
  • Sage Therapeutics (SAGE -$0.93 after Thursday’s -$1.26),
  • Regenxbio (RGNX -$0.78 after Thursday’s -$0.74, Wednesday’s +$2.67 and Tuesday’s +$0.24),

 

March, Q1/2022:

  • Friday closed negative with 2 incliners and 34 decliners
  • Thursday closed negative with 5 incliners, 30 decliners and 1 flat
  • Wednesday closed positive with 20 incliners, 13 decliners, 1 flat and 1 acquired
  • Tuesday closed negative with 15 incliners, 18 decliners, 1 flat and 1 acquired

 

The BOTTOM LINE: The cell and gene therapy advance/decline line extended share pricing drops from Thursday.

Glad this week is over, fear overshadowed jobs data and non-existent sector news usurped any movement.

  • Friday closed negative with 2 incliners and 34 decliners
  • Thursday closed negative with 5 incliners, 30 decliners and 1 flat
  • Wednesday closed positive with 20 incliners, 13 decliners, 1 flat and 1 acquired
  • Tuesday (3/1) closed negative with 15 incliners, 18 decliners, 1 flat and 1 acquired

Was the cell and gene therapy sector the target of an upside algorithmic hit – you betcha!

As volumes remain very low …

Look at the VIX, the fear gauge; it is at 31.98 after Thursday's 30.62 - that doesn't always mean the market's going down, but it means there's a very high level of uncertainty … although the cell and gene therapy sector’s volume remains LOW.

Gene editing investors are still swimming down stream with Editas Medicine (EDIT +$0.60), Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA -$4.14), Beam therapeutics (BEAM -$3.00), Caribou Therapeutics (CRBU -$0.12) and CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP -$3.16) trading, post the U.S. patent office ruled the Broad Institute patent was “more” valid than UC Berkely. (Read more … https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/12320)

Remember the adage, “It takes two to make a market"; that’s sellers and buyers.

I am always anticipating the risks – as my careers focus has been “warning analysis”.

Q4 and end-of-year earnings are gaming than even I thought.

Earnings’ reporting coming:

·         Athersys (ATHX), Tuesday, 3/15

·         Cellectis SA (CLLS) Thursday, 3/22

Who is defining the metrics for investors and keeping you notified of the sector and market fluctuations?  What I provide is a trusted source of share pricing intelligence – it’s more than opinion, I deal in the facts and numbers that back them up.

 

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.

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.