June 21, 2024 4:54pm

As triple witching covering pumped the cell and gene therapy sector

The Harvard Apparatus RT (OTCQB: HRGN -$0.13) Chronicles: Ponzi Scheme or a Madoff look-a-like? As it trades 201,045 shares with a 3-month average of 848 shares to a negative -$2.55. Funny how their website (Go Daddy) was available last night for anyone to acquire, I could have but declined to acquire it, why be spoilsport although they did not pay me for deferred compensation for year’s work and an IND filed by my commitments and associates (?) I call it FRAUD – how dumb can they continue to be? Further question, WHO is Mrs, Bin of Weston, Mass' DST funding OTCQB: HRGN?

I say today what others won't, so you can do what others can't!

Never leave an investor uninformed!

The week in review

I follow the dictum, quoting Churchill that “short words are best, and the old words when short are best of all.”

 

Friday: The Dow closed UP +15.57 points or +0.04%, the S&P closed DOWN -8.55 points or -0.16% while the Nasdaq closed DOWN -32.23 points or -0.18%

 

RegMed Investors’ (RMi) pre-open post: “Triple witching Friday, arguably riskier than other expirations. Stock options, stock index futures, and stock index options all expire. This convergence of multiple expirations can lead to increased trading activity due to heightened volatility.” … https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/13508

 

Henry’omics:

We need to more than consider the economic environment - rising rates and inflation to comprehend the micro re “our” universe of cell and gene therapy companies …

Indexes closed mixed…

Weekly, the S&P was up +0.6%, the Nasdaq finished the week flat, while the Dow rose 1.45% for its best weekly performance since May.

Trading on Friday could also be more volatile than normal due to triple witching — that is, the expiration of stock options, stock index options and stock index futures options. <CNBC>

Economic Data Docket: Home prices hit a new record in May, but sales were a little better than expected, the National Association of Realtors reported.

  • The median sales price for existing homes hit $419,300 for the month, up 5.8% from a year ago, with the record marking the 11th straight month of year-over-year gains. Home sales totaled a seasonally adjusted 4.11 million, down 0.7% but better than the 4.08 million Dow Jones consensus estimate. Unsold inventory expanded by 6.7% from April and stood at the equivalent of 3.7 months of supply, or 1.28 million.

U.S. service sector activity hit its highest level in 26 months during June while the manufacturing picture improved as well, according to S&P Global “flash” readings.

  • The flash services activity index hit a level of 55.1, its highest since the spring of 2022 and its 17th straight month of growth, according to the survey of purchasing managers. That was up from 54.8 in May and better than the 54 estimate from Dow Jones.
  • On the manufacturing side, the PMI flash reading came in at 51.7, a three-month high and 0.4 points better than May. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for 51 from the index that measures the share of managers who report expansion in activity.

 

Metrics & Advance/Decline (A/D) Line:

Friday’s advance/decline line at the open was positive with 21 incliner, 9 decliners and 5 flats; ending with a positive close of 22 incliners, 10 decliners and 3 flats

  • the IBB was up +1.21% and the XBI was up +2.77%
  • the VIX down -0.08 point or -0.60% at 13.20

Thursday’s advance/decline line at the open was negative with 10 incliner, 22 decliners and 3 flats; ending with a negative close of 10 incliners, 21 decliners and 4 flats

  • the IBB was up +0.98% and the XBI was up +0.21%
  • the VIX up +0.80 point or +6.41% at 13.26

Wednesday was market holiday

Tuesday’s advance/decline line at the open was negative with 7 incliner, 24 decliners and 4 flats; ending with a negative close of 6 incliners, 26 decliners and 3 flats

  • the IBB was down -1.06% and the XBI was down -0.99%
  • the VIX down -0.49 point or -3.84% at 12.26

Monday’s advance/decline line at the open was negative with 7 incliner, 26 decliners and 3 flats; ending with a negative close of 8 incliners, 23 decliners and 4 flats

  • the IBB was down -0.74% and the XBI was down -1.26%
  • the VIX was up +0.09 point or +0.71% at 12.75

 

Ebb and flow of MY covered sector cell and gene therapy session daily “endings”:

  • June: 1 market holiday, 5 positive and 9 negative closes

 

Friday’s Closing Down (10 of 10): Wednesday was market holiday

  • CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP -$3.36 after Thursday’s -$0.97 after Tuesday’s -$1.22 and Monday’s -$1.78),
  • Blueprint Medicine (BPMC -$0.98 after Thursday’s -$1.50 after Tuesday’s +$2.84 and Monday’s -$1.68)
  • Mesoblast (MESO -$0.18 after Thursday’s -$0.30 after Tuesday’s +$0.25),
  • Prime Medicine (PRME -$0.16 after Thursday’s -$0.13),
  • Harvard Apparatus RT (OTCQB: HRGN -$0.13 after multiple flats)
  • Beam Therapeutics (BEAM -$0.10),
  • Cellectis SA (CLLS -$0.06),
  • Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics (BCLI -$0.0165),
  • Compass Therapeutics (CMPX -$0.01),
  • Sangamo Therapeutics (SGMO -$0.0057 after Thursday’s +$0.0293 after Tuesday’s +$0.0076),

Flat (3):

  • Bellicum Pharmaceuticals (BLCM) – dropped)
  • Caribou Biosciences (CRBU)
  • Homology Medicine (FIXX) – under $1.00

Friday’s Closing Up (10 of 22 ): Wednesday was a market holiday

  • Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY +$8.30 after Thursday’s +$3.54 after Tuesday’s -$3.44 and Monday’s -$3.09
  • Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals (RARE +$1.58 after Thursday’s +$0.60 after Tuesday’s -$2.38 and Monday’s +$0.75)
  • Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS +$1.02 after Thursday’s +$0.17),
  • Agenus (AGEN +$0.99 after Thursday’s +$0.58 after Tuesday’s -$1.31 and Monday’s -$1.16),
  • Sage Therapeutics (SAGE +$0.46),
  • Lenz Therapeutics (LENZ +$0.35 after Thursday’s -$0.26),
  • Vericel (VCEL -$0.35 after Thursday’s +$1.29 after Tuesday’s +$1.66 after Monday’s -$0.58) 
  • Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR +$0.30 after Thursday’s -$0.37),
  • AxoGen (AXGN +$0.19 after Thursday’s -$0.34),
  • Fate Therapeutics (FATE +$0.17 after Thursday’s +$0.18),

 

The month to date:

  • Friday ended with a positive close of 22 incliners, 10 decliners and 3 flats
  • Thursday ended with a negative close of 10 incliners, 21 decliners and 4 flats
  • Wednesday was a market holiday
  • Tuesday ended with a negative close of 6 incliners, 26 decliners and 3 flats
  • (6/17) Monday ended with a negative close of 8 incliners, 23 decliners and 4 flats
  • Last Friday ended with a negative close of 4 incliners, 29 decliners and 2 flats

 

The BOTTOM LINE: For those of us watching the sector, it means the share pricing swinging worthlessly …  par for the course.

  • To supplement some of that missing trading activity, it’s a triple witching day. That means stock options, stock index futures, and stock index options all expire on the same day. Such days generally lead to an uptick in volatility.
  • The Juneteenth holiday split up the week, and many traders likely parlayed the day off into a long weekend by taking off yesterday and today, too.

 

We are also about to see share pricing rotation or profit taking as Q2 ends next Friday and sector companies prepare for LPS (loss-per-share) quarterly earnings releases.

So, what are share pricing themes that investors can be comfortable with for a short or near- term time horizon i.e., Q3?

 

A sign for the times for “our” universe:

Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT) shares surged about 31.2% in trading today as an expanded use approval opened up a bigger market in the U.S. for its gene therapy for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

  • On Thursday, the FDA granted traditional approval for the therapy, Elevidys, in patients four years and above who can walk, as well as an accelerated approval for those who cannot.
  • The global treatment market for DMD - including gene therapies and other drugs - is expected to grow to $11.47 billion by 2034, according to research firm ResearchandMarkets.

 

Let get to 3 things that you need to know for Friday as you prep for the trading day …

  • 3rd week of June, the cell and gene therapy sector experienced 1 market holiday, 3 negative closes and ended Friday with a positive close as options were covered
  • 2nd week of June … negative closes on Friday and Thursday after Wednesday ascended positively as Tuesday drifted lower, retreating from Monday’s highs.
  • 1st week of June: Friday and Thursday ended in the toilet after Wednesday’s positive close Tuesday negative close following Monday’s positive close.

 

Economic data releases painted a mixed picture of the labor market and housing sector in the United States

  • More than half of traders are pricing in the first interest rate cut in September and we have fresh jobs and housing data out this morning on the jobs front, 238,000 people filed new claims for unemployment benefits for the weekend in June 15th and that's a few 1000 higher than analysts expected, but it's a decline from previous weeks and those weeks were at revised levels. <Yahoo Finance>

 

The top three (3) performing in the session:   

  • Friday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals (RARE) and Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS)
  • Thursday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), Vericel (VCEL) and BioLife Solutions (BLFS)
  • Wednesday was market holiday
  • Tuesday: Blueprint Medicine (BPMC), Vericel (VCEL) and Regenxbio (RGNX)
  • Monday: Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals (RARE), Generation BIO (GBIO) and Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS)

The worst three (3) in the session:   

  • Friday: CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP), Blueprint Medicine (BPMC) and Mesoblast (MESO)
  • Thursday: Blueprint Medicine (BPMC), CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) and Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA)
  • Wednesday was market holiday
  • Tuesday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals (RARE) and Agenus (AGEN)
  • Monday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) and Blueprint Medicine (BPMC)

 

Welcome to my world of defining the “grey’ in our universe!

  • Right up front, “I also hate to be so negative or contrarian but, this is a NO spin zone and facts are its product; I can always be WRONG but … I am mostly EARLY!”

 

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 it’s 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.