September 15, 2022 5:00pm
Gene editors are feeling the tailwinds
Pre-open indications: 4 HITs and 3 MISS
WHY and HOW is this market affecting the cell and gene therapy sector … “The Bottom Line” underlines the framework of share pricing actions.
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. Who else is tracking a broad grouping of cell and gene therapy equities – can you afford to not read facts supported by real numbers?
If I have learned one thing as a former research analyst in a venture and public fund 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 -173.07 points (-0.56 %) the S&P closed DOWN -44.69 points (-1.13 %) while the Nasdaq closed DOWN -167.32 points (-1.43 %)
Henry’omics:
Indexes dropped in choppy trading on Thursday as investors mulled over several economic reports that showed a muddy picture of the U.S. economy.
Economic data is definitely affecting the market and reflexibility the cell and gene therapy sector; maybe, NOT today but, it’s coming!
Economic Data Docket: “Thursday, initial jobless claims came in better than expected, but import prices saw a smaller drop than estimates suggested. Retail sales beat expectations, but were negative when excluding autos. Manufacturing data also showed a slowing economy. While those reports suggest that the U.S. consumer sector is holding its ground for now, they will do little to alleviate concerns about persistent inflation.” <CNBC>
· A flurry of economic data at 8:30 painted a mixed picture of the U.S. economy. Retail sales rose but saw negative revisions to the prior month. The Philly Fed manufacturing survey surprisingly turned negative. <CNBC>
· Initial unemployment claims fell slightly to 213,000, continuing a trend of falling unemployment claim volume that began last month.
· The week saw a decrease of about 5,000 from the prior week, bringing national claims down to the lowest level since late May, according to data from the Department of Labor. Claims are down about 41% from 363,000 a year ago.
· The average for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage is now 6.02%, up from 5.89% last week, according to a survey from the real estate company. The benchmark mortgage rate has more than doubled over the past year as the Federal Reserve has hiked interest rates.
RegMed Investor’s (RMi) Pre-Open: “will sector’s share pricing be risk/reward exposed? Another economic data day, think caution.” … https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/12604
RegMed/Stem/Cell and Gene Therapy’s 35 covered equities’ Advance/Decline (A/D) lines: what happened …
Thursday’s advance/decline line opened positive at 19 up/ 15 down and 1 flat, flipped negative at 11 a.m. with 14 up/20 and 1 flat cascading at the mid-day with 26 up/9 and 0 flat, ending with a positive close of 25/10 and 0 flat.
Pre-open Indications: 4 HITs < Biostage (BSTG -$0.19 with 717 shares traded), BioLife Solutions (BLFS -$0.17), uniQure NV (QURE -$0.92), Vericel (VCEL +$0.39)> 3 MISS < Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA +$4.70), Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS +$0.08), CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP +2.8)>
Key Metrics:
- Thursday - Sector volume was LOW with 10 of the 25-upside having higher than the 3-month average volume with LOW volume of 2 of 10-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 up +0.13% and the XBI was up +1.30%
The CBOE Volatility Index (VVIX: INDEX) tracked:
- Thursday was up +0.11 points or +0.42% at 26.27
Jumping with share pricing momentum (10 of 25):
- Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA +$4.70 after Wednesday’s +$0.73, Tuesday’s -$2.05 and Monday’s +$0.76),
- Beam Therapeutics (BEAM +$3.66 after Wednesday’s +$3.50 and Tuesday’s -$4.25)
- CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP +$2.82 after Wednesday’s +$4.64, Tuesday’s -$2.27 and Monday’s +$2.86),
- Ultragenyx (RARE +$2.01 after Wednesday’s -$0.54, Tuesday’s -$2.97 and Monday’s -$0.46),
- Editas Medicine (EDIT +$1.43 after Wednesday’s $0.13),
- Verve Therapeutics (VERV +$1.14 after Wednesday’s +$1.840,
- Sage Therapeutics (SAGE +$1.09 after Wednesday’s +$0.72, Tuesday’s -$1.51 and Monday’s -$0.04),
- Fate Therapeutics (FATE +$0.97 after Wednesday’s -$3.53 after Monday’s +$1.02),
- AxoGen (AXGN +$0.62),
- Vericel (VCEL +$0.39 after Wednesday’s +$0.72),
Closing down (10 of 10):
- uniQure NV (QURE -$0.92 after Wednesday’s +$0.96),
- Chinook therapeutics (KDNY -$0.24),
- Biostage BSTG -$0.19 after Wednesday’s +$0.15, Tuesday’s -$0.30 and Monday’s -$0.10),
- BioLife Solutions (BLFS -$0.170,
- Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT -$0.17),
- Homology Medicine FIXX -$0.13 after Wednesday’s -$0.01),
- Cellectis SA (CLLS -$0.11),
- Mesoblast (MESO -$0.05),
- Precigen (PGEN -$0.03),
- MiMedx (MDXG -$0.02),
September, Q3/2022:
- Thursday closed positive with 25 incliner, 10 decliners and 0 flat
The BOTTOM LINE: The sector ended the day in the green fluctuating back and forth to end positive!
I try to keep it simple … and short!
Investor’s Business daily (IBD) dedicates an evening post,
- “The biotech companies owe their sudden prosperity to a multitude of forces, not just one catalyst. And analysts say that bodes well for their staying power.
- Acquisitions by Big Pharma companies, strong earnings and a promising regulatory environment have helped biotech stocks stage a turnaround. And the tantalizing prospect of good news involving CRISPR gene editing later this year adds more fuel. Though biotech stocks have pulled back somewhat in recent weeks and a continued climb isn't assured, the sector ranks seventh for price performance in recent months out of the 197 industries that Investor's Business Daily tracks.”
- “Just six months ago, the biotech group ranked No. 143 out of 197 industries, putting it near the bottom quarter of all industry groups. Since then, the best biotech stocks have powered the industry to a seventh-place ranking and a collective Relative Strength Rating of 96. This means the group ranks in the top 4% of all industries in terms of six-month performance.”
Read it all: https://www.investors.com/news/technology/biotech-stocks-notch-blazing-path-2022/?src=A00220
“Earlier this year, rising interest rates and inflation worries sent investors scrambling for less risky stocks. In the world of medicine.”
September continued with 1 holiday, 7 positive and 3 negative closes; August is over with 1 neutral, 11 positive and 11 negative closes while last week which ended the month.
As I stated, for the past sessions, “it was time to take PROFITS” …
As I continually question, “The real question that should be asked is how many companies are at the end of sentiments … leash?
Start by looking at cell and gene therapy companies trading below cash!”
Repeating myself, “I find it very interesting to evaluate share price over earnings and a shortage of revenue reporting as a proxy for share pricing performance?”
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.
