October 12, 2022 5:16pm

With a rebound from the open’s 25 down to closing positive with 19 ascending of 35 covered

The Biostage (OTCQB: BSTG) Chronicles: On October 10, 2022, the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors dismissed Wei, Wei & Co., LLP as its independent registered public accounting firm in an 8-K.  Is that the third (3rd) accounting firm utilized in five (5) years?

Pre-open indications: 2 HITs, 2 MISS and 1 Pump/Promote <Biostage (BSTG) – the usual suspect>

It’s an honor to be considered the “canary in the (sector) coal mine”!  I post about “indication intelligence” devoting my time to collection and analysis of information to assist investors in the perception of sector vulnerabilities and strengths

It’s more than opinion, the facts and truth need to be recognized!

Why do I keep writing this blog/newsletter; to inform investors, what others won’t say or write

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 -28.34 points (-0.10%), the S&P closed DOWN -11.81 points (-0.33%) while the Nasdaq closed DOWN -9.09 points (-0.09%)

 

Henry’omics:

Indexes closed lower Wednesday …

Traders took a comment in the central bank’s September meeting minutes as a sign that the Fed may back off rate hikes in the event of more market turbulence, lifting stocks further. <CNBC>

The Fed's minutes on Wednesday showed that the path to higher interest rates remains intact. The latest producer price index and employment numbers showed that inflation was slowing down at a slower pace than expected. Another 75-basis-point hike in November is in the cards with a possible terminal rate of 4.6% in 2023. <IBD>

Troubling: GreenLight Biosciences (GRNA) – an mRNA company laid-off a quarter of its team; eight months after it went public through a reverse merger. <Medford, Mass>

Economic Data Docket: Investors will get even more important inflation data on Thursday. The consumer price index is a measure of price changes in a basket of common consumer goods and services.

 

Largest volume of the session:

  • bluebird bio (BLUE) Wednesday traded 3,316 million shares (-$0.12) after Tuesday traded 5,305 million shares (+$0.27) after Monday’s traded 2.988 million shares (-$0.30), Friday traded 5,397 million shares (-$0.62), Thursday traded 5.385 million shares (+$0.59), Wednesday traded 6.631 million shares (+$0.19) <average 3 mo. volume = 7,939 million shares> So, when will an offering be proposed?

All-time lows: Verastem (VSTM) at $0.43, Avrobio (AVRO) at $0.60 and Applied Genetic Technologies (AGTC) at $0.23

 

RegMed Investor’s (RMi) Pre-Open: “producer price report weighs the session. Wholesale prices rose 0.4% in September, a warm-up for Thursday's consumer price index (CPI).” … https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/12646

 

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

  • Wednesday’s advance/decline line opened negative at 9 up/ 25 down and 1 flat, stayed negative with +11 up/ 23 down and 1 flat at the mid-day, ending with a positive close of 19/15 and 1 acquired.

 

Pre-open Indications: 2 Hit < Verve Therapeutics (VERV +$0.82), Beam Therapeutics (BEAM +$1.65)> 2 MISS < Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA +$1.38), Sangamo Therapeutics (SGMO -$0.01)> 1 Pump/Promote < Biostage (OTCQB: BSTG +$0.05 with 2,070 shares traded)> 

 

Key Metrics:

  • Wednesday - Sector volume was LOW with 0 of the 19-upside having higher than the 3-month average volume with LOW volume of 3 of 15-downside having higher than the 3-month average volume

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

  • Wednesday, the IBB was up +0.73% and the XBI was up +0.55%

The CBOE Volatility Index (VVIX: INDEX) tracked:

  • Wednesday was down -0.06 points or -0.18% at 33.57

 

Jumping with share pricing momentum (10 of 19):

  • Beam Therapeutics (BEAM +$1.65 after Tuesday’s -$0.10 and Monday’s -$1.08
  • Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA +$1.38 after Tuesday’s -$0.83 and Monday’s -$1.71),
  • Ultragenyx (RARE +$1.01 after Tuesday’s +$0.27 and Monday’s -$0.74),
  • Verve Therapeutics (VERV +$0.82 after Tuesday’s -$0.08 and Monday’s -$1.61),
  • Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS +$0.46 after Tuesday’s +$0.46 and Monday’s -$0.83),
  • Fate Therapeutics (FATE +$0.40 after Tuesday’s -$0.39),
  • BioLife Solutions (BLFS +$0.39 after Tuesday’s -$0.73 and Monday’s -$1.38),
  • Regenxbio (RGNX +$0.29 after Tuesday’s +$0.19),
  • Caribou Biosciences (CRBU +$0.22 after Tuesday’s -$0.10),
  • Chinook Therapeutics (KDNY +$0.21 after Tuesday’s +$0.47 and Monday’s -$0.78),

Flat (1):

  • CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP)

Closing down (10 of 15):

  • Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY-$1.57 after Tuesday’s -$0.14 and Monday’s +$8.99),
  • Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR -$0.30 after Tuesday’s +$0.31 and Monday’s +$0.05),
  • uniQure NV (QURE -$0.28 after Tuesday’s +$0.23),
  • Agenus (AGEN -$0.12),
  • bluebird bio (BLUE -$0.12 after Tuesday’s +$0.27),
  • Vericel (VCEL -$0.09 after Tuesday’s +$0.59 and Monday’s +$0.23),
  • Mesoblast (MESO -$0.08),
  • Bellicum Pharmaceuticals (BLCM -$0.07),
  • Compass Therapeutics (CMPX -$ after Tuesday’s +$0.25),
  • MiMedx (MDXG -$0.06 after Tuesday’s -$0.13 after Monday’s +$0.01),

 

Q4 - October

  • Wednesday closed positive with 19 incliner, 15 decliners and 1 flat
  • Tuesday closed neutral with 17 incliner, 17 decliners and 1 acquired
  • Monday closed negative with 4 incliner, 30 decliners and 1 acquired

 

The BOTTOM LINE: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday’s share pricing “roller-coaster” has left me dizzy.

I try to keep it simple … and short!

We are seeing what October brings – Q3 earnings LPS (loss-per-share) season and a whole lot of economic indicators.

October has NEVER been a good month for equities.

I believe the sector is showing mixed signals, some BUYs more SELLs – yet I also believe we should review the new bottoming of Agenus (AGEN) and Solid Biosciences (SLDB) while DISPOSING of Avrobio (AVRO) who experiences news and the stock drops after a de-listing notice while the management DID NOTHING to AVOID this dilemma!

·         AVRO closed down -$0.0149 Tuesday and -$0.02 on Wednesday

·         Will AVRO have to “commission" a stock reverse to address delisting?

October has 1 neutral, 4 positive and 3 negative closes; September continued with 1 holiday, 11 positive and 11 negative closes; August is over with 1 neutral, 11 positive and 11 negative closes while last week which ended the month.

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!” 

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.