December 8, 2015 6:00pm

Who, what when, where and why, read it here …

 

The answer …  It’s all about locking in profits for the year to come back at lower pricing

 

 

I eat, sleep and dream the sector and say what others won't, so you can do what others can't!

 

 

U.S. stocks closed mostly lower Tuesday but off session lows as oil prices stabilized and biotech stocks gained. Soft China trade data and some anxiety ahead of the Fed's meeting next week also weighed.

The NASDAQ closed DOWN -3.57 or -0.07% to 5,098.24 and the DOW closed DOWN -162.51 or -0.92% to 17,668.00.

 

 

Henry’omics:

The stem, cell and gene therapy RegMed sector stocks opened negative, flipped to the upside – positive at the mid-day to end positive (of 43 covered companies).

  • Biotech stocks bucked the overall decline to trade higher. Health care was the only advancer in the S&P 500 and the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) traded about 2% higher in afternoon trade.

The iShares Biotechnology Stocks ETF (IBB) plunged 2.2% Monday and attempted to recover Tuesday amid the conclusion of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting.

  • Volume was again lower and unspectacular as the higher the loss parity was noticed in volume!

My fear gauge is static – The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) traded on Tuesday above 17 following Monday’s above 16 after Friday’s near 15!

 

 

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 6/32 and 4 flats;
  • The mid-day strayed to the positive with an A/DL of 24/17 and 2 flats;
  • The closing bell rang positive to end Tuesday’s session with an A/DL of 25/16 and 2 flats.

 

 

Tuesday’s trading indications – 15 hits/ 8 miss:

  • Applied Genetic Technologies (AGTC) closed UP – miss;
  • Asterias Therapeutics (NYSEMKT: AST) closed DOWN – hit;
  • Bellicum (BLCM) closed DOWN – hit;
  • Juno Therapeutics (JUNO) closed UP – miss;
  • Sangamo (SGMO) closed DOWN – hit;
  • Aduro Biotech (ADRO) closed UP – hit;
  • bluebird bio (BLUE) closed UP – hit;
  • Cellectis (CLLS) closed UP – hit;
  • Intrexon (XON) closed UP – hit;
  • Kite Pharma (KITE) closed UP – hit;
  • Northwest Bio (NWBO) closed DOWN – hit;
  • BioLife Solutions (BLFS) closed UP, a surprise – miss;
  • Capricor (CAPR) closed DOWN – hit;
  • Fate Therapeutics (FATE) closed DOWN – miss;
  • Harvard Apparatus RT (HART) closed UP – hit;
  • MiMedx (MDXG) closed UP – hit;
  • Athersys (ATHX) closed FLAT – hit;
  • Brainstorm (BCLI) closed UP - miss;
  • ImmunoCellular Therapeutics (NYSEMKT: IMUC) closed DOWN - hit;
  • Neuralstem (CUR) closed UP - miss;
  • Pluristem (PSTI) closed DOWN - hit;
  • StemCells (STEM) closed UP – miss;

 

 

Riding the indexes and ETFs roller-coaster:

  • The iShares Biotechnology Stocks ETF (IBB) closed UP on Tuesday +6.31 or +1.95% following Monday’s decline of  -7.44 or -2.24% after Friday’s advance of  +9.75 or +3.03%;
  • The NASDAQ Biotechnology index (NBI) closed UP on Tuesday +63.05 or +1.86% following Monday’s -75.06 or -2.16% after Friday’s advance of +99.59 or +2.95%;
  • The Russell 2000 (IWM) closed Tuesday DOWN –0.64 or -0.55% following Monday’s decline of  -1.77 or -1.50% after Friday’s advance of +1.18 or +1.01%;
  • The SPDR SD&P Biotech ETF (XBI) closed UP on Tuesday +1.41 or +2.09% following Monday’s decline of  -2.69 or -3.83% after Friday’s advance of +1.38 or +2.00%

 

 

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

  • Open: NEGATIVE with 32 decliners, 6 advances and 4 flats;
  • 1st ½ hour: POSITIVE with 19 decliners, 21 advancers and 3 flats;
  • 11 am: POSITIVE with 12 decliners, 31 advancers and 0 flats;          
  • Mid-day (1 pm): POSITIVE with 17 decliners, 24 advancers and 2 flats;
  • 2:30 pm: POSITIVE with 20 decliners, 22 advancers and 1 flat;
  • Closing bell: POSITIVE with 16 decliners, 25 advancers and 2 flats

 

 

Who was UP – top 5:

  • Kite Pharma (KITE) closed up +$3.59 to $74.85;
  • bluebird bio (BLUE) +$2.99 to $55.24;
  • Spark Therapeutics (ONCE) +$1.98 to $50.31;
  • Intrexon (XON) +$1.65 to $32.43;
  • Aduro Biotech (ADRO) closed up +$1.43 to $31.08

 

 

Who closed down – top 5:

  • Bellicum (BLCM) closed down -$0.98 to $19.38;
  • Stemline (STML) -$0.64 to $6.96;
  • VistaGen (VSTA) -$0.55 to $4.95;
  • Mesoblast (MESO) -$0.34 to $5.75;
  • Sangamo (SGMO) closed down -$0.28 to $9.41

 

 

Flat:

  • Athersys (ATHX) at $1.07;
  • Caladrius (CLBS) at $1.12

 

 

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.