November 16, 2015 6:00pm

 

At the opening there was a bit of a panic trade and as the session was ending traders bought into the sector. There's still a lot of wait and see as financial results aka LPS (loss per share) earnings seasons come to an end.  

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U.S. stocks gained Monday on a sharp jump in oil prices boosted by geopolitical concerns following weekend terror attacks in Paris.   The major U.S. averages closed more than 1% higher, recovering some of their sharp declines last week.

The NASDAQ closed UP +56.73 or +1.15% to 4,984.62 and the DOW is also UP +237.77 or +1.38% to 17,483.01.

 

 

Henry’omics:

The stem, cell and gene therapy RegMed sector opened negative and to close in negative territory (of 43 covered companies)!

  • The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) traded slightly higher (+0.4% higher).

My fear gauge is decreasing  – The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) traded Monday held near 18 ... following Friday’s  above 20 from ... last Monday’s below 15.

  • Put simply, “our” universe stocks get crushed and pulped yet replenish despite the oversold conditions.  Excitement over the recent acquisition of Ocata therapeutics (OCAT) was short-lived in relation to positioning cell therapy as a tenable future for the sector.

One would think that the stem, cell and gene therapy would trade better once financial results defined their … “runway”!

  • The problem is expectation!

Some will argue this is the … bluebird bio (BLUE) effect – sharp declines followed by even sharper re-runs, but I find it hard to believe that this alone explains the severe weakness seen across “our” universe!

  • There will be stabilization for some but, “our” universe will continue spurts of being oversold, a signal a decline in equities to the end of the year is more likely than not!

 

 

A day in the life of the stem, cell and gene therapy RegMed (SCGT & RM) sector:

  • The SCGT & RM equities opened negative with an Advance/Decline line (A/DL) of 17/25 and 1 flat;
  • The mid-day popped with another negative A/DL of 15/27 and 1 flats;
  • The closing bell rang neutral to end Monday’s session with an A/DL of 20/20 and 3 flats.

 

 

Earnings:

Most would agree the fundamental situation has not changed much, with exception of a handful of “so-so” received financial results/earnings reports, which is different than the previous quarter:

  • Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics (BCLI) reported <11/16> a Q3/15 net loss of -$2.6 M or -$0.14 per share with $17.1 M in cash. BCLI closed DOWN -$0.01 to $2.76;
  • Cesca Therapeutics (KOOL) reported <11/16> a Q3/15 net loss of -$3.4 M or -$0.08 per share with $6.6 M in cash. KOOL closed UP +$0.059 to $0.589;
  • Cellectis S.A. (CLLS) reported <11/16> since CLLS did not have consolidated financial statements for individual quarters during FY14, no comparative quarterly 2014 figures will be presented during 2015. Cellectis will publish quarter-over-quarter comparative figures starting with in Q1/16. CLLS stated a Q3/15 net loss of – Euro $12.7 M or -$0.36 per share with Euro 279.4 M in cash. CLLS closed DOWN -US$1.28 to US$34.55;

 

 

Monday’s trading indications:  4 hits/ 1 miss

  • Capricor (CAPR) closed UP – miss;
  • BioLife Solutions (BLFS) closed FLAT – hit;
  • Harvard Apparatus RM (HART) closed UP – hit;
  • Kite Pharma (KITE) closed DOWN – hit;
  • Verastem (VSTM) closed UP – hit;

 

 

Riding the indexes and ETFs roller-coaster:

  • The iShares Biotechnology Stocks ETF (IBB) closed Monday UP +1.25 or +0.39% following Friday’s advance of +3.53 or +1.10%;
  • The NASDAQ Biotechnology index (NBI) closed Monday UP+10.84 or +0.32% following Friday’s advance of +36.28 or +1.08%;
  • The Russell 2000 (IWM) closed Monday UP +0.98 or +0.86% following Friday’s decline of -0.83 or -0.72%;
  • The SPDR SD&P Biotech ETF (XBI) closed Monday DOWN -0.12 or -0.18% following Friday‘s decline of -0.05 or -0.07%;

 

 

Dosing the sector – what a day for the 43 Patients:

  • Open: NEGATIVE with 25 decliners, 17 advances and 1 flat;            
  • Mid-day (1 pm): NEGATIVE with 27 decliners, 15 advancers and 1 flat;
  • Closing bell: NEUTRAL with 20 decliner, 20 advancers and 3 flats

 

 

Who was UP – top 5:

  • Juno Therapeutics (JUNO) closed up +$3.47 to $53.47;
  • Bluebird bio (BLUE) +$3.06 to $74.45;
  • MiMedx (MDXG) +$0.48 to $8.23;
  • Organovo (ONVO) +$0.14 to $3.09;
  • ReNeuron (RENE.L) closed up +$0.10 to $3.225

 

 

Who closed down – top 5:

  • Spark Therapeutics (ONCE) closed down -$3.94 to $52.00;
  • Kite Pharma (KITE) -$1.99 to $79.34;
  • Regenxbio (RGNX) -$1.86 to $21.34;
  • Aduro Biotech (ARDO) -$1.46 to $27.63;
  • uniQure (QURE) closed down -$1.40 to $77.45

 

 

Flat:

  • Ocata Therapeutics (OCAT) at $8.46;
  • Neuralstem (CUR) at $1.09;
  • VistaGen (VSTA) at $6.00;

 

 

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.