May 16, 2025 5:17pm

A session of exercise, purchase, sell or letting the option contract expire worthless; your speculative purpose

On options expiration Friday

Week to date, the S&P 500 is up +5.3%, the Dow +3.4% and the Nasdaq jumped +0.52%.

Earnings:

  • Precigen (PGEN) Net loss of -$54.2 M or -$0.18, revenue of $300 K, cash of $81 M in cash with a 2026 runway.

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.

 

Friday’s RegMed Investors’ (RMi) pre-open: Monthly equity, index, and cash-settled currency options expiration date and PM settled index options cease trading. … https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/13922

Thursday night’s RegMed Investors (RMi) Closing Bell: Econs rose, were unchanged, a manufacturing fall and an oil tumble … https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/13921

 

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

 

Friday: The Dow closed UP +331.99 points or +0.78%, the S&P closed UP +41.45 points or +0.70% while the Nasdaq closed UP +98.78 points or +0.52%

  • Indexes notched a positive close
  • More than $2.8 trillion of notional options exposure expired on today, the biggest such number on record for a May trading day.

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

  • The University of Michigan’s survey of consumers (sentiment) fell to 50.8 in May, down from 52.2 in April, which is the second-lowest reading ever behind June 2022. Consumer expectations for inflation over the next year jumped to 7.3% from 6.5% last month.

Friday’s advance/decline line opened with a positive 25 incliner, 7 decline and 3 flats ending with a positive close of 29 incliners, 3 decliners and 3 flats          

Metrics:  Friday, the IBB was up +1.92%, the XBI was up +1.44% while the VIX was down -0.59 points or -3.31% at 17.24

 

Q2/25 – May – 6 negative and 6 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

 

Fridays Closing UP (10 of 29)

  • CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP +$2.46 after Thursday’s +$0.71 after Wednesday’s -$1.62 after Tuesday’s -$0.37 after Monday’s +$1.97),
  • Blueprint Medicine (BPMC +$2.20 after Thursday’s +$1.98 after Wednesday’s -$1.89 after Tuesday’s -$0.90 after Monday’s +$3.14),
  • Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY +$1.91 after Thursday’s +$15.85 after Wednesday’s +$0.69 after Tuesday’s -$1.33 after Monday’s +$19.04),
  • BioLife Solutions (BLFS +$1.60 after Thursday’s -$0.06 after Wednesday’s -$1.04 after Tuesday’s -$0.80 after Monday’s +$0.60)
  • Moderna (MRNA +$1.21 after Thursday’s -$0.37 after Wednesday’s -$1.47),
  • Vericel (VCEL +$0.99 after Thursday’s -$0.81 after Wednesday’s -$1.34 after Tuesday’s +$0.98 after Monday’s +$0.92),
  • Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals (RARE +$0.77),
  • Beam Therapeutics (BEAM +$0.64),
  • Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS +$0.57 after Thursday’s +$0.39 after Wednesday’s +$0.07 after Tuesday’s -$1.00 after Monday’s +$1.27),
  • uniQure NV (QURE +$0.45 after Thursday’s +$0.60),

Flat (3)

  • bluebird bio (BLUE)
  • Harvard Apparatus RT (OTCQB: HRGN)
  • Homology Medicine (FIXX)

Friday’s Closing DOWN (3 of 3): 

  • Lenz Therapeutics (LENZ -$0.53 after Thursday’s -$0.29 after Wednesday’s -$1.33 after Tuesday’s -$0.41 after Monday’s +$3.03),
  • Mesoblast (MESO -$0.23 after Thursday’s +$0.41 after Wednesday’s -$0.34 after Tuesday’s +$0.56),
  • MiMedx (MDXG -$0.04 after Thursday’s +$0.13),

 

The BOTTOM LINE: Some … “Investors should lean into equities in a 'glass half full' market”

  • To me, “ Econs, earnings, share price burnings and a below the zone offering; just another session in a sea of alteration” from yesterday!

What more can be written, another surprise upside …

May ‘25: understand the “flow” …

  • 5/16 - Friday closed positive with 29 positive, 3 negative and 3 flats
  • 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 39 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

 

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.

  • Let the algos and electronic traders lead the charge ...
  • 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:   

  • Friday: CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP), Blueprint Medicine (BPMC) and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY)
  • 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)

The worst three (3) in the session: 

  • Friday: Lenz Therapeutics (LENZ), Mesoblast (MESO) and MiMedx (MDXG)
  • 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)

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.