February 26, 2016 6:29am

The stem, cell and gene therapy regenerative medicine sector resembles a relay race: second fastest, third fastest, slowest, then the fastest or anchor.

 

Which “leg” of the race can  you depend on  to stay invested?

 

In this race, where the baton is both passed on and accepted between runners; the team effort, management and investors  makes or breaks the outcome of share pricing.  Subscribe … http://www.regmedinvestors.com/create-account

 

I say today what others won't, so you can do what others can't; whether information or intelligence is good, bad or somewhere in between – it defines the who, when, where, which and what of it …

 

Dow futures are UP +0.8 % and NASDAQ futures are UP +0.9%                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

 

U.S. stock index futures indicated a higher open on Friday as traders eyed both inflation data and the price of oil.

European markets traded higher after a rally on Wall Street overnight following a rise in the oil price, while Royal Bank of Scotland saw shares tumble following disappointing results. The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 1.7%.

Asian markets closed mostly higher on Friday, with Japan extending gains, but some caution persisted after recent volatility.

 

Data docket: The Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, the price index of personal consumption expenditures that excludes food and energy, is scheduled to be released on Friday morning. The January PCE report will also include data on personal income and consumer spending. Other data due to be released on Friday include the second read on fourth-quarter gross domestic product, trade deficit for January and final consumer sentiment for February.

 

 

The stem, cell and gene therapy RegMed sector closed NEGATIVE on Thursday, POSITIVE on Wednesday, NEGATIVE on Tuesday, POSITIVE on Monday and last Friday.

 

Past five (5) days (of 43 covered companies):

·         Thursday closed NEGATIVE with 23 decliners, 19 advancers and 1 flat;

·         Wednesday closed POSITIVE with 17 decliners, 23 advancers and 3 flats;

·         Tuesday closed NEGATIVE with 33 decliners, 8 advancers and 2 flats;

·         Monday closed POSITIVE with 8 decliners, 32 advancers and 3 flats

·         Last, Friday closed POSITIVE with 17 decliners, 23 advancers and 3 flat;

 

 

The stem, cell and gene therapy regenerative medicine (SCGT&RM) dropped the baton in yesterday’s relay race to the close losing the race to finish damaged.

  • Let’s imagine for a moment that the SCGT&RM sector is like a relay race. In this relay race, a company has a leg of the race that they are responsible for with the CEO being the lead of the larger whole team.  The race depends on each runner and each leg of the race.

Each runner or company must hand off the baton to the next runner <an index or market> within a certain zone typically using a "blind handoff", where the second runner <traders>stands on a spot <share price> predetermined and starts running when the first runner <investors> hits a visual mark on the track.

  • If we view our lives as a relay race, it is not hard to see how all of the different phases of a company’s development, processes and share pricing initiative <if any (?)>  are dependent upon one another.

Thus, as the team’s share price appreciates, the sector, market and investors win!

  • To the contrary, even when one person has a fast speed and an outstanding performance; it doesn’t matter so much if the rest of the team performs poorly.

The question remains, if investors accept the baton and trust the runners <CEO and development platform> behind us, each step depends on the “leg” before!

 

 

You’ve made it to the office, turned on the monitor having just gotten your coffee and it hits you - what could be Fridayday’s trades? 

 

  • Applied Genetic Technologies (AGTC) closed DOWN -$0.86 to $13.99. Oversold as the company continues to ignore retail investors with the week beginning at a share price of $15.20. 2/1/16’s $14.66, 1/4/16’s $19.80 as well as 12/1/15’s $17.09 might shows where the stock has been but, what has changed in the context of the company – BUY;
  • BioLife Solutions (BLFS) closed DOWN -$0.03 to $1.75. After Q4/15 conference call, the consolidated net loss was $5 M and net loss attributable to BLFS was $4.2 M compared to a net loss of $3.2 M  in 2014. The increase in net loss is primarily the result of increased headcount and spending related to development and launch activities of its biologistex™ joint venture. BLFS anticipates an increase in operating expenses in 2016 as they continue to invest in sales and marketing efforts and to develop, test, and deploy new releases of its new biologistex cold chain logistics app.  BLFS ended the year with a low $3.8 M in cash. And that is just some of the story - Maintaining SELL;
  • bluebird bio (BLUE) closed DOWN -$4.22 to $48.15 after being up +$0.91<$52.37>. The Q4/15 loss was -$47.3 M or $1.29 per share.  However, cash was $865.8 M. Good news, Celgene (CELG) has exercised its option to exclusively license bb2121, under the terms of the collaboration agreement. BLUE will also receive a $10 M option exercise payment from CLGN and is also eligible to receive specified development and regulatory milestone payments and royalty payments on net sales. The oversold after-market indication is +$0.35– SELL to BUY;
  • Capricor (CAPR) closed UP +$0.16 to $2.50 with large volume of 27.8 K shares after being down -$0.08 <to $2.34> with low volume of 10.4 K Wednesday after being down -$0.01 on tiny volume - 405 shares <average volume = 23.4 K shares> on Tuesday.  After announcing a new CFO, a former analyst and healthcare investor - be ready for an OFFERING - the most recent was a total failure, so much for the choices this CEO makes! Remember 1/19/16’s $2.03, a non-deal-road show should re-start as soon as another banker can “flog” the “hedgies” – Maintaining SELL;
  • Kite Pharma (KITE) closed UP +$0.14 to $45.11 after being down -$0.44. The after-market indication is -$0.16 however, financial results are due on Monday, 2/29/16 – pre- earnings call jitters is an even bet on the roulette table –BUY to SELL;

 

 

Opinions expressed are those of the author and are subject to change, and are 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.