December 2, 2015 6:31pm

Traders are squaring their positions and taking off any risk

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I say today what others won't, so you can do what others can't - access insight into sector sentiment and share pricing!

 

 

U.S. stocks closed lower, with selling accelerating in late afternoon trade after oil broke below $40 a barrel and there was more evidence of a weak manufacturing sector in the Fed's Beige Book. The sell-off began after Fed Chair Janet Yellen reaffirmed the case for a rate hike at the Fed's Dec. 16 meeting but reiterated that the decision will be data dependent.

The NASDAQ closed DOWN -33.08 or -0.64% to 5,123.22 and the DOW closed DOWN -158.67 or -0.89% to 17,729.69.

 

 

Henry’omics:

  • The stem, cell and gene therapy RegMed sector stocks opened neutral, straying positive  at the mid-day to end negative at the close (of 43 covered companies).
  • Volume was moderate except in specific cases of some appreciators and the fallen!
  • My fear gauge is static – The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) traded Wednesday near 16 after Tuesday’s above 15 following Monday’s above 16!

 

 

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

  • The SCGT & RM equities opened neutral with an Advance/Decline line (A/DL) of 20/20 and 3 flats;
  • The mid-day strayed positive with an A/DL of 26/17 and 0 flat;
  • The closing bell rang negative to end Wednesday’s session with an A/DL of 19/22 and 2 flats.

 

 

Wednesday’s indications – 5 hits/ 2 miss:

  • bluebird bio (BLUE) closed UP +$0.67 – hit;
  • Capricor (CAPR) closed+$0.08 – miss;
  • Harvard Apparatus RT (HART) closed DOWN -$0.56 – hit;
  • Juno Therapeutics (JUNO) closed UP – hit;
  • Kite Pharma (KITE) closed DOWN -$$31.19 - miss;
  • Northwest Bio (NWBO) closed DOWN -$0.15 – hit;
  • uniQure (QURE) closed UP – hit;

 

 

Riding the indexes and ETFs roller-coaster:

  • The iShares Biotechnology Stocks ETF (IBB) closed Wednesday down -2.22 or -0.66% after Tuesday closed up +1.79 or +0.54% following Monday’s decline of -6.64 or -1.95%;
  • The NASDAQ Biotechnology index (NBI) closed on Wednesday -27.72 or -0.79% after Tuesday’s advance of +18.82 or +0.54% following Monday’s decline of -67.62 or -1.90;
  • The Russell 2000 (IWM) closed Wednesday down -1.29 or -1.08% after Tuesday’s advance of +0.79 or +0.66% following Monday’s decline of -0.52 or -0.43%;
  • The SPDR SD&P Biotech ETF (XBI) closed Wednesday -0.41 or -0.57% after Tuesday’s decline of -0.15 or -0.21% following Monday’s decline of -0.33 or -0.45%

 

 

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

  • Open: NEUTRAL with 20 decliners, 20 advances and 3 flats;            
  • Mid-day (1 pm): POSITIVE with 17 decliners, 26 advancers and 0 flat;
  • Closing bell: NEGATIVE with 22 decliners, 19 advancers and 2 flats

 

 

Out and above:

Harvard Apparatus RT (HART) dumped again -$0.56 or -19.18% to $2.36 after Tuesday’s decline of -10.15% or -$0.33 …

  • Having jumped on Monday +47.73% or +$1.05 to $3.25 with 18.38 M shares traded in a day’s range of $2.06 to $3.47 after Friday’s +44% or +$0.45 from $1.76 to $2.20 with 2.973 M shares traded.;
  • Reiterating, moderation and control is needed when you let the “pumpers” off … the leash – trouble will be following you!
  • Disclosure, I personally like the CEO and “some” members of the corporate staff but, the facts must be placed in evidence!!

 

Great news but, no “bucks” to support … development

Cesca Therapeutics (KOOL) received approval for Medicare coverage for its CLIRST III study. This positive news has caused KOOL’s stock to open 21% but, closed 13.92%;

  • KOOL CEO Robin Stracey said, “We are very pleased with the CMS's decision to approve our potentially life changing, pivotal clinical study in critical limb ischemia (CLI) for Medicare reimbursement which will further KOOL's efforts to find an effective treatment for CLI, the most severe form of peripheral arterial disease.”
  • The Medicare funding will allow “KOOL” to conduct their clinical trial at a lower cost than previously anticipated.

 

 

Who was UP – top 5:

  • bluebird bio (BLUE) closed up +$0.67 to $81.01;
  • Juno Therapeutics (JUNO) +$0.26 to $55.83;
  • Aduro Biotech (ADRO) +$0.24 to $29.69;
  • MiMedx (MDXG) closed up +$0.14 to $9.07;
  • uniQure (QURE) closed up +$0.11 to $19.91;

 

 

Who closed down – top 5:

  • Kite Pharma (KITE) closed down -$3.19 to $72.86;
  • Intrexon (XON) -$1.41 to $34.83;
  • Spark Therapeutics (ONCE) -$1.06 to $55.39 – on news of an offering;
  • Harvard Apparatus RT (HART) -$0.56 to $2.36;
  • Mesoblast (MESO) closed down -$0.33 to $5.75 – after an $8.00 offering

 

 

Flat:

  • Ocata Therapeutics (OCAT) at $8.48;
  • BioLife Solutions (BLFS) at $2.23;

 

 

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.