August 15, 2025 4:56pm

As cell and gene therapy sector oscillated to a high end; close to the end of earnings season.

Having written, “Sector needs a cold-water therapy immersion; Maybe it could promote share pricing recovery, portfolio health benefits and increased momentum to spark a wave of positivity your investment can release”

Never leave an investor uninformed! 

TGIF

 

“When you’re riding’ ahead of the sector herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure your share pricing “cows” are moving”

I think it's important to now take a step back, focus on the fundamentals. This has definitely been a better Q from a stock-picker standpoint given the earnings consensus misses that we've seen; however, advancing clinical catalysts and recent financings strike a balance going forward

I answer or qualify the sector’s equity’s movement; with an emphasis on which company is gaining or losing stride in their portfolio for the short-term

 

Friday’s RegMed Investors’ (RMi) pre-open: Sector needs a cold-water therapy immersion … https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/14065

RegMed Investors (RMi) Research Note: Harvard Apparatus GT (OTCQB): Just another wrinkle – Q2/25’s 10-Q – liabilities exceed cash position … https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/13812

 

Friday: The Dow closed UP +34.85 points or +0.08%, the S&P closed DOWN -18.74 points or -0.29% while the Nasdaq closed DOWN -87.693 points or -0.40%

  • Theme of the session, no longer bracing for the worst-case scenario for the economy

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

  • July’s retail sales data, rose 0.5% last month, meeting expectations. Retail sales excluding automobiles gained 0.3% matching estimates. The 1st decrease in 4 months and below the consensus outlook for 62.5. The current conditions measure tumbled 10.4%, though the expectations number was off just 0.9%.
  • The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index fell to 58.6 in August from 61.7 last month due to worries over inflation.

Friday’s advance/decline line opened positive with 22 incliners, 11 decliners and 2 flats ending with a positive close of 25 incliners, 9 decliners and 1 flat

Metrics:  Friday, the IBB was up +1.49%, the XBI was up +1.11% while the VIX was up +0.26 points or +1.75% at 15.09

 

Q3 – August – 6 negative and 5 positive closes

  • July – 1 market holiday, 13 positive and 9 negative closes

Q2/25: June – 1 market holiday, 1 neutral, 9 negative and 11 positive closes, May – 1 market holiday, 10 negative and 11 positive closes and April – 11 positive and 10 negative closes

 

Friday Closing UP (10 of 25) 

  • Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY +$6.18 after Thursday’s +$10.21, Wednesday’s +$2.59, Tuesday’s -$5.07 and Monday’s -$3.93),
  • IQVIA Holdings (IQV +$1.69 after Thursday’s -$0.83, Wednesday’s +$4.27, Tuesday’s +$5.90 and Monday’s +$0.28),
  • Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT +$1.51),
  • Moderna (MRNA +$1.33 after Thursday’s -$0.20),
  • Precigen (PGEN +$1.09) – after FDA approval
  • Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS +$0.93 after Thursday’s -$0.25, Wednesday’s +$1.69, Tuesday’s +$0.57 and Monday’s -$0.80),
  • CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP +$0.91 after Thursday’s +$1.55),
  • Wave Life Sciences (WVE +$0.85 after Thursday’s +$0.15),
  • BioNTech SE (BNTX +$0.82),
  • Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals (RARE +$0.68),

Flat (0)

  • Harvard Apparatus RT (OTCQB: HRGN)

Friday’s Closing DOWN (9 of 9): 

  • Lenz Therapeutics (LENZ -$3.06 after Thursday’s +$1.56, Wednesday’s +$3.03, Tuesday’s -$2.44 and Monday’s +$4.09),
  • BioLife Solutions (BLFS -$0.98 after Thursday’s -$0.36, Wednesday’s +$1.62 and Tuesday’s +$1.69),
  • Generation Bio (GBIO -$0.37),
  • Regenxbio (RGNX -$0.24 after Thursday’s +$0.13)
  • Prime Medicine (PRME -$0.07 after Thursday’s -$0.175),
  • Solid Biosciences (SLDB -$0.06 after Thursday’s -$0.51),
  • MiMedx (MDXG -$0.04 after Thursday’s -$0.12)
  • Caribou Biosciences (CRBU -$0.02),
  • Cellectis SA (CLLS -$0.01),

 

The BOTTOM LINE:  Indexes took a hit, edging back from their records, led by drops for technology companies, but ... still closed out another winning week thus, remaining on solid footing for the month.

For the week:

  • The S&P 500 is up 60.35 points, or 0.9%.
  • The Dow is up 770.51 points, or 1.7%.
  • The Nasdaq is up 172.96 points, or 0.8%.
  • The Russell 2000 is up 68.10 points, or 3.1%.

Ancillary yet, a meeting between President Trump and Russian President Putin with traders looking for clues on how the outcome could steer markets.

While, rate cut uncertainty permeated the market over the past two sessions following Thursday's hotter-than-expected monthly Producer Price Index (PPI) print.

However, US consumer sentiment deteriorated in August, falling for the first time in four months as inflation expectations jumped in the longer term.

My perspective is retail investors should roll-the-dice with econ readings as earnings season kicks-in and momentum wains in the cell and gene therapy sector.

  • NO all ins as historically “our” universe slips and slides as the “season’ resumes; so, hang-in with those with solid partners, lengthened runways and solid cash positions leveraged by solid/stable management teams!

Waiting next for the Fed's Jackson Hole symposium.

  • Optimism over a September Fed rate cut has grown since last week's poor labor market data release. Trump's nomination of Miran to serve as a Fed board governor has also fueled speculation that the central bank will be less restrictive in its monetary policy.

Reiterating, the market is … has braced for a historically weak month … August is the worst month for the Dow in data going back to 1988, and the 2nd worst for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac.

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!”

Earnings today: None

  • As earnings slowly come to the last few releases, collaborator revenues and runways has instilled share pricing with forward stability
  • Q2 results so far:  4 net incomes and 25 net losses of 29 releases to date

 

August begins as July ends: understand the “flow” …

  • 8/15 – Friday - closed positive with 25 positive, 9 negative and 1 flat
  • 8/14 – Thursday closed barely positive with 18 positive, 17 negative and 0 flat
  • 8/13 – Wednesday closed positive with 32 positive, 2 negative and 1 flat
  • 8/12 - Tuesday closed positive with 28 positive, 6 negative and 1 flat
  • 8/11 – Monday closed negative with 10 positive, 25 negative and 0 flat
  • 8/8 – Friday closed negative with 11 positive, 23 negative and 1 flat
  • 8/7 – Thursday closed negative with 9 positive, 24 negative and 2 flats
  • 8/6 - Wednesday closed negative with 11 positive, 22 negative and 2 flats
  • 8/5 – Tuesday closed negative with 15 positive, 19 negative and 1 flat
  • 8/4 – Monday closed positive with 27 positive, 8 negative and 0 flat
  • 8/1 – Friday closed negative with 9 positive, 20 negative and 6 flats

 

“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.
  • I was once told by a “very” prominent figure early in my career, “write it right, keep it tight without hype and never lose the stride to guide the reader” – they were pretty simple instructions to follow!

 

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

The top three (3) performing in the session:   

  • Friday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), IQVIA Holdings (IQV) and Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT)
  • Thursday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) and Lenz Pharmaceuticals (LENZ)
  • Wednesday: CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP), IQVIA Holdings (IQV) and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY),
  • Tuesday: IQVIA Holdings (IQV), BioLife Solutions (BLFS) and BioNTech (BNTX)
  • Monday: Lenz Pharmaceuticals (LENZ), uniQure NV (QURE) and Compass Therapeutics (CMPX)

The worst three (3) in the session: 

  • Friday: Lenz Pharmaceuticals (LENZ), BioLife Solutions (BLFS) and Generation Bio (GBIO)
  • Thursday: Vericel (VCEL), IQVIA Holdings (IQV) and Solid Biosciences (SLDB)
  • Wednesday: Compass Therapeutics (CMPX) and Agenus (AGEN)
  • Tuesday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), Lenz Pharmaceuticals (LENZ) and Beam Therapeutics (BEAM)
  • Monday: BioNTech (BNTX), Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY) and Vericel (VCEL)

 

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.