August 2, 2022 7:33am

A very weak after-market does not bode well as earnings set the stage for share pricing erosion

Earnings today: Sage Therapeutics (SAGE)

News: T.D. Bank (The Toronto-Dominion Bank) is buying Cowen, the investment bank

Pre-open indications: 4 Positive Indications and 1 Puff/Pump/Promote

RMi outlines a daily bell ringing 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.

I DEVOTE a HUGE amount of time to “reckoning” the geography of my coverage group - it’s more than opinion, I deal in the facts and numbers that back them up.

The 8:00 A.M., ET edition

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 DOWN -0.56% or (-185 points), S&P futures are DOWN -0.61% (-25 points) and NASDAQ futures are DOWN -0.72% (-91 points) early in the pre-open – so far,

 

Stock futures slipped Tuesday morning as tensions between the U.S. and China increased ahead of an expected visit to Taiwan by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

European markets pulled back slightly,

Asia pacific markets were mixes as Mainland China and Hong Kong markets led losses

 

Henry’omics:

Indexes see-sawed then plunged on Monday as world factory data showed demand weakening under inflation pressures, while the looming possibility of recession curbed risk appetite. All three (3) major U.S. indexes were last modestly lower on August first, coming on the heels of the S&P 500's and the Nasdaq's biggest monthly percentage gains since 2020. The Dow closed DOWN -46.73 points (-0.14%); the S&P closed DOWN -11.66 points (-0.28%) while the Nasdaq closed DOWN -21.71 points (-0.18%).

 

RegMed Investors’ (RMi) closing bell: “an end of month tumble on Friday, a stumble on Monday, the first session of August. More frequently right than consequentially wrong.” …  https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/12543

Ebb and flow –

Q3/22 – August – 1 negative close

July -1 holiday, 10 negative and 10 positive closes

Q2/22 –

June – 1 holiday, 9 positive and 11 negative closes

·         May - 11 positive and 10 negative closes

·         April - 1 holiday, 6 positive and 13 negative closes

Q1/22:

·         March – 13 negative and 10 positive closes

·         February stats: 11 negative, 8 positive closes and 1 holiday

·         January stats: 2 holidays, 1 neutral, 13 negative and 6 positive closes

 

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

8/2, Tuesday

·         Sage Therapeutics (SAGE) bucked the trend jumping +$3.51 or +10.19% with a net loss of -$126.3 M or -$2.13 per share with $1.3B in cash and a runway until 2025

 

Don’t expect much from those companies’ releasing earnings this week:

8/3, Wednesday:

·         AxoGen (AXGN), Editas Medicine (EDIT), Fate Therapeutics (FATE), MiMedx (MDXG) and Vericel (VCEL)

8/4, Thursday:

·         Agenus (AGEN) and Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA) and Sangamo Therapeutics (SGMO) and Cellectis SA (CLLS)

 

Positive Indications:

Verve Therapeutics (VERV) closed down -$2.02 to $22.60 after Friday’s -$2.93 with a positive +$0.20 or +0.88% pre-open indication,

CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) closed down -$0.99 to $74.01 after Friday’s -$2.93 with a positive +$1.09 or +1.47% pre-open indication,

Caribou Biosciences (CRBU) closed down -$0.10 to $8.02 <52-week low of $4.89> with a positive +$0.23 or +2.87% pre-open indication,

 

Puff/Pump and Promote: Maintaining SELL

Biostage (OTCQB: BSTG) closed flat again with 8 shares traded after Friday’s $0.00 with 0 shares traded, Thursday’s up +$0.50 with 600 shares traded, Wednesday’s -$0.05 with 545 shares traded and last Tuesday $0.00 with 0 shares traded <3 mo. Average = 1,269 shares>

·         BSTG seems to have the ONLY avenue to finance to utilize non-U.S. Chinese investors?

·         How much lipstick is a lot on this pig with an almost 4-year-old IND and NO clinical trial initiation?

·         WATCH and be ready for a BIG reverse of shares to enable offering from multiple private placements as it tries to facilitate an offering with Newbridge Securities

 

The BOTTOM LINE: I try to keep it simple … and short!

Earnings season ramps-up this week …

Sector equity pricing are trending in a roller coaster fashion, currently being at the mercy of electronic trading, inflation, interest rates and earnings.

Sector expectations are really low.

We are up, down, up and down – it gets tiring! Portfolios are wailing, not crying.

We always need a … villain and they are multiplying – low volume as “Earnings’ season is coming, investors NEED to focus on LPS (loss-per-share), trial status, product revenues, collaboration revenues and cash positions i.e., runways”.

This week: AxoGen (AXGN), Editas Medicine (EDIT), Fate Therapeutics (FATE), Regenxbio (RGNX), MiMedx (MDXG) and Vericel (VCEL) on Wednesday, 8/3, Agenus (AGEN) and Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA) and Sangamo Therapeutics (SGMO) on 8/4

Upcoming earnings announcements: Precigen (PGEN) and Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT) on 8/8 followed by Agenus (AGEN) and Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) on 8/9, Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics on 8/15, Monday … to date.

So be extra cautious for the next few days. If you do make new purchases, look for early buying opportunities and try to buy as close to those entries as possible. <IBD>

As I have written, “It’s STILL nice to be RIGHT” about the direction of the sector having “DEVOTED a HUGE amount of time to “reckoning” the geography of my coverage group.”

Whether information or intelligence is good, bad or somewhere in between; 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.

 

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.

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 securities referred to in this publication.