December 18, 2015 6:32am

 

Today marks quadruple witching, which is the simultaneous expiration of stock-index futures, stock-index options, single-stock options and single-stock futures, creates both volume and volatility.

I provide intelligence and analysis for short and near-term investment.

 

Osiris Therapeutics (OSIR) discloses BDO USA is resigning and shares have fallen -12.84% or -$1.40 to $9.50 in afterhours … Subscribe or take your losses without complaining …      

 

Critical information ahead of “our” universe’s open!

 

 

DOW futures are DOWN -0.1% and NASDAQ futures are FLAT at 0.0%

 

 

U.S. stock index futures indicated a lower open today as traders looked to the final quadruple witching Friday of the year.

European markets traded lower following a sharp rally the day before as a further drop in commodity prices remains in focus for investors.

Major markets in Asia closed mostly lower after wavering between positive and negative territory as investors focused on economic data, central bank decisions and commodity prices.

  • The Japanese market took a wild ride, erasing early losses and spiking higher briefly after the Bank of Japan said it will increase purchases of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), before retreating back into negative territory.

 

Data docket: The Markit Services PMI is due at 9:45 a.m. ET. Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker will speak on a panel discussing the economic outlook for 2016 at a Charlotte Chamber of Commerce event in Charlotte, NC. at 12:30 p.m. ET. Lacker is a voting member of the policy-setting committee in 2015, which on Wednesday voted unanimously to increase interest rates by 25 basis points.

 

 

Stirred not shaken:

  • Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), -2.02%  could be active after GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), -1.02%  said it’ll buy the U.S. drugmaker’s pipeline of HIV drugs.

 

 

The RegMed sector closed POSITIVE on Thursday, Wednesday and Tuesday following a NEGATIVE close on Monday and last Friday.

 

Thursday closed POSITIVE with 17 decliners, 22 advancers and 4 flats after Wednesday’s POSITIVE close with 11 decliners, 31 advancers and 1 flat following Tuesday’s POSITIVE close with 15 decliners, 28 advancers and 3 flats after Monday NEGATIVE close  with 31 decliners, 10 advancers and 2 flats.

 

 

You’ve made it to the office, turned on the monitor having just gotten your coffee and it hits you … what is today’s … trade?

  • Even after stocks surged, charts and sentiment call for … CAUTION!

 

 

Tales of the tape:

Osiris Therapeutics (OSIR) discloses its independent registered public accounting firm, BDO USA is resigning. While BDO's reports on OSIR's 2013 and 2014 financial statements didn't contain "any adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion," the firm "advised that their opinion on the effectiveness of the following ...

  • OSIR's internal controls over financial reporting as of December 31, 2014 should no longer be relied upon due to management's identification of a material weakness in internal controls over financial reporting related to the timing of revenue recognition under certain distribution contracts."
  • In addition, while prepping Osiris' Q3 10-Q, BDO and Osiris "had a disagreement about the timing of revenue recognition under certain distributor contracts and about OSIR's related internal controls over financial reporting."
  • BDO recommended OSIR change its accounting firm for a Q4 2014 distributor contract, and reassess its internal controls over financial reporting to determine if a material weakness related to revenue recognition existed. As previously disclosed, Osiris plans to restate its Q1 and Q2 results, and amend its 2014 annual report. Ernst & Young is being hired to replace BDO.

OSIR’s shares closed UP +$0.80 or +7.925 to $10.90 and are falling 12.84% to $9.50 after hours.

 

 

Friday’s indications:

A day for a shell game (also known as Thimblerig, Three shells and a pea, the old army game) is almost always a confidence trick used to perpetrate fraud.

  • The objective of this game is to test your eyes to see if they can track fast enough. This game involves fast thinking and good eyesight. All you have to do is to place your bet, then keep your eye on the small black ball and then figure out which shell it is in after the shells are shuffled.

 

Pricing <the pea> is always up for grabs … financial markets are a shell game in itself, artificial price manipulation by pumpers, traders and algorithmic programs but, someone has to switch the shells.

  • Martin Shkreli accused of being surprisingly good at fraud ... could or should serve as an excellant "shell switcher" 

 

 

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.

Henry McCusker, the editor and publisher of RegMed Investors does not hold or have positions in securities referred to in this publication.