June 16, 2022 7:57pm
Management and directors NEED to start “funding/investing” their own $$ to position upside by personal buying commitment
Pre-open indications: 1 HIT - Puff/Pump/Promote (the usual suspect Biostage (BSTG)
WHY and HOW is this market affecting the cell and gene therapy sector … “The Bottom Line” underlines the framework of share pricing actions. Who else is tracking a broad grouping of cell and gene therapy equities – can you afford to not read facts supported by real numbers?
It’s a quick read to understand the ebb and flow of the session in one site
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 -741.46 points (-2.42%); the S&P closed DOWN -123.22 points (-3.25%) while the Nasdaq closed DOWN -453.06 points (-4.08%)
Henry’omics:
Indexes fell even deeper on Thursday, as the market dived and the cell and gene therapy sector were in the same position after Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday’s steep declines as traders move the down sliders (I believe real investors are sitting-on-the-sidelines bracing for a key monetary policy announcement from the Fed.
The major averages have suffered steep losses this week; the S&P 500 is down 6.6%, while the Dow is off by 5.2% and the Nasdaq has fallen 6.7% this week to date
Economic Data Docket: Data further indicated a dramatic slowdown in economic activity. Housing starts dropped 14% in May, much deeper than the 2.6% decline expected by economists polled by Dow Jones. The Philadelphia Fed Business Index for June came in with a negative 3.3 reading, its first contraction since May 2020.
Market sentiment appeared to sour once again Thursday as central banks around the globe adopted more aggressive policy stances and investors questioned whether the Fed can pull off a soft landing. <CNBC>
RegMed/Stem/Cell and Gene Therapy’s 35 covered equities’ Advance/Decline (A/D) lines: what happened …
- Thursday opened negative at 1 up/ 31 down and 3 flats, stayed negative at the mid-day to 7/28, ending with a negative close of 7/28.
Pre-open Indications: < 1 Puff/Pump/Promote < Biostage (BSTG -$0.20 with 1,239 shares traded)>
Key Metrics: review the disparities between daily sessions …
- Thursday - Sector volume was HIGH with 5 of the 7-upside having higher than the 3-month average volume with MODERATE volume of 12 of 28-downside having higher than the 3-month average volume;
The iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology (IBB) and the SPDR S&P ETF (XBI) indicators:
- Thursday, the IBB was down -2.61% and the XBI was down -2.60%
The CBOE Volatility Index (VVIX: INDEX) tracked:
- Thursday was up +3.51 points or +11.85% at 33.13
Jumping with share pricing momentum (7 of 7):
- CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP +$1.98 after Tuesday’s+$2.84 after Monday’s -$8.49),
- Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT +0.64 after Tuesday’s -$0.24),
- Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA +$0.51 after Tuesday’s -$0.47 and Monday’s -$3.49),
- Beam Therapeutics (BEAM +$0.28 after Tuesday’s +$0.97 and Monday’s -$3.22)
- Mesoblast (MESO +$0.01 after Tuesday’s -$0.14),
- Bellicum Pharmaceuticals (BLCM +$0.01 after Tuesday’s +$0.13),
- Agenus (AGEN+$0.01),
Closing down (10 of 28):
- Sage Therapeutics (SAGE -$1.21 after Tuesday’s -$0.13 and Monday’s -$2.58),
- Verve Therapeutics (VERV -$1.15 after Tuesday’s -$0.13),
- Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS -$0.94 after Tuesday’s +$0.01),
- BioLife Solutions (BLFS -$0.84),
- Ultragenyx (RARE -$0.69),
- AxoGen (AXGN-$0.64),
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY -$0.63 after Tuesday’s +$5.82 after Monday’s -$4.41),
- Vericel (VCEL -$0.62),
- Regenxbio (RGNX -$0.56),
- uniQure NV (QURE -$0.54)
- AxoGen (AXGN -$0.11),
June, Q2/2022:
- Thursday closed negative with 7 incliner, 28 decliners and 0 flat
- Wednesday closed positive with 26 incliner, 7 decliners and 2 flats
- Tuesday closed negative with 11 incliner, 22 decliners and 2 flats
- Monday closed negative with 2 incliner and 33 decliners
The BOTTOM LINE: What changes … NOTHING … it’s a CONSTANT tug-of-war!
Cell and gene therapy equities finished sharply lower Thursday, giving back almost all of the previous sessions' (Wednesday) upside, as investors experience a re-set pricing on risky sector stocks that ended getting trampled on Thursday.
Sector volume was higher on the Nasdaq as with 5 of the 7-upside having higher than the 3-month average volume with MODERATE volume of 12 of 28-downside having higher than the 3-month average volume;
A trio of stocks stood out by continuing to build bullish bases despite the negative action:
· CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP),
· Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT),
· Intellia therapeutics (NTLA) and
· Beam Therapeutics BEAM)
Yesterday, I talked about “net shorts” in the title … “A net short situation in finance is when an investor has more in a short position then he or she has in a long position. Figuring out what net short means requires knowing about how today’s investors use financial instruments to invest in markets. A net short value is the amount that an investor gets by subtracting the value of his or her long positions from the total value of their short positions”. <Smart Capital Mind>
Another session for an algorithm “rule” for our universe as buyers DISAPPEAR and marginally appear.
A “short squeeze” is definitely upon us … and I am praying for a gap-up by algorithms (how I have fallen)!
Amid the sell-off, continue to maintain a “defensive posture” – in other words – HOLD on tight.
We always need a villain – Inflation affects the market and conversely the sector with downslides has remained a dominant issue for investors.
Which investors will be BUYING equities if we can barely afford gas and food!
I try to keep it simple and short … because there’s so much worry that people use any piece of good news as a chance to sell – it has become a process of developing ROI (return of investment).”
Reiterating, I believe there will be opportunity in cell and gene therapy equities but, the summer doldrums are still a roadblock. This period of volatility will likely last into the second half of the year.
However, the continuing state of volatility confirms fears that I have been expressing these daily and weekly posts.
I stick to my view of anticipating the risks – as my careers focus has been “warning analysis”.
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.
