May 15, 2025 4:41pm

As I wrote this a.m., “God darn those econs, are they dictating the coming moves?”

A mid-session sector reversal to the upside

Earnings: Brainstorm Cell therapeutics (BCLI) cancels and reschedules release until 5/19

Never leave an investor uninformed!  

On point, short on words, long on facts and being judicious!

My mission is to provide clear, actionable guidance on a regular basis to help investors and traders navigate the uncertain and often irrational financial markets.

I put hours of effort to create reporting, while leveraging my 40 years of operating. investigative and research experiences to analyze the key market-moving events and distill that into a cogent outlook.

 

RegMed Investors’ (RMi) pre-open: God darn those econs, are they dictating the coming moves? … https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/13920   

Wednesday night’s RegMed Investors (RMi) Closing Bell: there is always a toll in riding the roller-coaster … https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/13919

RegMed Investors (RMi) Financing: Sangamo Therapeutics (SGMO) prices 12,235 M share offering at $0.50 to raise $23 M … https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/13917

 

RegMed Investors (RMi) Research Note: Harvard Apparatus GT (OTCQB: HRGN) Chronicles: Yet another "screw job" for/on investors ... "wanting to effect a reverse split of its outstanding common stock" in its recent proxy statement filing!! … https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/13812

 

Thursday: The Dow closed UP +271.69 points or +0.65%, the S&P closed UP +24.35 points or +0.41% while the Nasdaq closed DOWN -34.49 points or -0.18%

  • Indexes were mixed with the Nasdaq losing the lyric 

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

  • Unexpected decline in wholesale prices; the producer price index for April declined 0.5% month-over-month. Economists forecast PPI would increase 0.3% on the month. Retail sales increased 0.1% in April, which matched consensus estimates, while industrial production numbers for April decreased slightly more than expected.
  • Retail sales rose slightly in April as consumers. Advance estimates showed a gain of 0.1%, down sharply from the 1.7% increase in March though in line with the Dow Jones consensus estimate. Ex-auto sales also rose 0.1%, short of the 0.3% estimate. Sales rose 5.2% from a year ago, according to the figures which are adjusted for seasonality but not inflation. Restaurants and bars saw a 1.2% increase and building materials and garden centers reported a 0.8% gain. Sporting goods sales were off 2.5% while miscellaneous retailers slipped 2.1%.
  • Initial jobless claims were unchanged at 229,000 for the week ending May 10, near the forecast for 226,000.
  • The Empire State Manufacturing index, fell further to -9.2, slightly below the -9.0 estimate. The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index rose sharply in May but was still negative at -4.0. The previous reading was -26.4; the estimate was for -10.5. The two measures look at the difference between companies reporting expansion against contraction.

Thursday’s advance/decline line opened with a negative 9 incliner, 23 decline and 3 flats ending with a positive close of 24 incliners, 10 decliners and 1 flat    

Metrics:  Thursday, the IBB was up +2.32%, the XBI was up +1.31% while the VIX was down -0.78 points or -4.19% at 17.84

 

Q2/25 – May – 6 negative and 5 positive closes

  • April – 11 positive and 10 negative closes

Q1/25

  • March, 10 positive and 12 negative closes
  • February – 12 holiday, 11 negative and 7 positive closes
  • January - 2 holidays, 1 market close, 10 negative and 10 positive closes

 

Thursdays Closing UP (10 of 24)

  • Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY +$15.85 after Wednesday’s +$0.69 after Tuesday’s -$1.33 after Monday’s +$19.04),
  • Blueprint Medicine (BPMC +$1.98 after Wednesday’s -$1.89 after Tuesday’s -$0.90 after Monday’s +$3.14),
  • CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP +$0.71 after Wednesday’s -$1.62 after Tuesday’s -$0.37 after Monday’s +$1.97),
  • uniQure NV (QURE +$0.60),
  • Mesoblast (MESO +$0.41 after Wednesday’s -$0.34 after Tuesday’s +$0.56),
  • Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS +$0.39 after Wednesday’s +$0.07 after Tuesday’s -$1.00 after Monday’s +$1.27),
  • Regenxbio (RGNX +$0.31 after Wednesday’s +$0.15 after Tuesday’s +$0.21)
  • Sage Therapeutics (SAGE +$0.23),
  • Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA +$0.19 after Wednesday’s -$0.44),
  • MiMedx (MDXG +$0.13),

Flat (1)

  • Homology Medicine (FIXX)

Thursday’s Closing DOWN (10 of 10):

  • Vericel (VCEL -$0.81 after Wednesday’s -$1.34 after Tuesday’s +$0.98 after Monday’s +$0.92),
  • Moderna (MRNA -$0.37 after Wednesday’s -$1.47),
  • Lenz Therapeutics (LENZ -$0.29 after Wednesday’s -$1.33 after Tuesday’s -$0.41 after Monday’s +$3.03),
  • Agenus (AGEN +$0.09),
  • BioLife Solutions (BLFS -$0.06 after Wednesday’s -$1.04 after Tuesday’s -$0.80 after Monday’s +$0.60)
  • Harvard Apparatus RT (OTCQB: HRGN -$0.04)
  • AxoGen (AXGN -$0.04 after Wednesday’s +$0.93 after Tuesday’s -$0.51),
  • bluebird bio (BLUE -$0.01 after Wednesday’s +$1.67 after Tuesday’s +$0.02 after Monday’s -$021),
  • Adverum Biotechnology (ADVM -$0.01)
  • Generation Bio (GBIO +$0.0072)

 

The BOTTOM LINE: Econs, earnings, share price burnings and a below the zone offering; just another session in a sea of alteration

What more can be written, a surprise upside …

May ‘25: understand the “flow” …

  • 5/15 – Thursday closed positive with 24 positive, 10 negative and 1 flat
  • 5/14 – Wednesday closed negative with 8 positive, 25 negative and 2 flats
  • 5/13 – Tuesday closed negative with 6 positive, 28 negative and 1 flat
  • 5/12 - Monday positive with 30 positive, 3 negative and 2 flats
  • 5/9 - Friday closed negative with 10 positive, 23 negative and 2 flats
  • 5/8 – Thursday closed positive with 25 positive, 8 negative and 2 flats
  • 5/7 - Wednesday closed positive with 16 positive, 15 negative and 4 flats
  • 5/6 – Tuesday closed negative with 2 positive, 31 negative and 2 flats
  • 5/5 - Monday closed negative with 9 positive, 23 negative and 3 flats
  • 5/2 – Friday closed positive with 24 positive, 8 negative and 3 flats
  • 5/1 - Thursday closed negative with 14 positive, 19 negative and 2 flats

 

Some BAD news:

Leap Therapeutics (LPTX) is making cuts to its team as it navigates a “difficult market environment,” according to the company’s CEO.

  • The Cambridge, Mass. biotech said it would let go of about 50% of its staff. Leap came into 2025 with 52 full-time employees, 41 of which worked in research and development and 11 were general and administrative workers. The layoffs will impact around 26 people.
  • Leap (Nasdaq: LPTX) said it would funnel resources into the clinical development of sirexatamab in second-line colorectal cancer patients and another drug, FL-501, in preclinical development. <Boston Business Journal>

 

I usually write/say “electronic trading and uncle algo” slips in and out, back doors reaping sector disharmony and then pops right back for some profiteering.

  • What can I say, love ‘em, leave ‘em and welcome back to save the sector’s honor – “uncle algo and his electronic dwarfs.” <me>

My perspective is retail investors should NOT be dipping their toes back into the cell and gene therapy sector until after LPS (loss-per-share) earnings report.

  • NO all ins – just add those with solid partners, lengthened runways and solid cash positions leveraged by solid management teams – there I see losses going forward!

Market news i.e., tariff drive upside yet estimate and consensus misses with continued earnings LPS (loss-per-share) will shake the sector down – the vig must be paid!

“I hate to be so negative or contrarian but, this is a NO spin zone and truth is its product; I can always be WRONG but, I am mostly EARLY!”

  • If I have learned one thing as a former research analyst in a venture and public fund, operating executive, x-FBI, x-military officer and an adjunct (MBA) business school professor now a journalist; my life and your portfolio are largely tied to knowledge of price movements and questioning pricing targets and more.

What could 2025 have in store for the capital access space – DESPERATE  

  • "You'll see a number of cell and gene therapy companies DESPARITE drive for financings – they’re desperate for cash, but I do think a lot of cell and gene therapy sector companies NEED to be focused on what is driving their own growth —they're focused on a lot of change BUT … that's happening in pipelines … capital expansion is second.

 

Why do I keep repeating, so investors can make the connection …

The top three (3) performing in the session:   

  • Thursday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), Blueprint Medicine (BPMC) and CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP)
  • Wednesday: bluebird bio (BLUE), AxoGen (AXGN) and Regenxbio (RGNX)
  • Tuesday: Vericel (VCEL), Mesoblast (MESO) and Regenxbio (RGNX)
  • Monday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), Blueprint Medicine (BPMC) and Lenz Therapeutics (LENZ)
  • Friday: BioLife Solutions (BLFS), uniQure NV (QURE) and Lenz Therapeutics (LENZ)

The worst three (3) in the session: 

  • Thursday: Vericel (VCEL), Moderna (MRNA) and Lenz Therapeutics (LENZ)
  • Wednesday: CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP), Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY) and Moderna (MRNA)
  • Tuesday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) and Blueprint Medicine (BPMC)
  • Monday: bluebird bio (BLUE), Adverum Biotechnologies (ADVM) and Cellectis SA (CLLS)
  • Friday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), Blueprint Medicine (BPMC) and AxoGen (AXGN)

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.