March 3, 2016 6:46am

 

Trading volume on up days still lag down days.

What is sustainable or are we just unwinding “short-covering”?  

 

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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 and NASDAQ futures are UP +0.1%                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

 

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a flat to lower open on Thursday, as investors start the countdown to Friday's jobs report, while digesting the economic data of the week so far.

European markets pushed lower following a choppy open as investors paused for breath after a rally in equities over the past few days.

Asia markets extended gains ahead of a series of key global events due to take place in the coming days while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was the odd one out. The Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 0.73% in afternoon trade.

 

Data docket: with the ISM non-manufacturing survey for February due at 10 a.m. ET and expected at 53, down from 53.5 in January. It had been 55.8 the month earlier and in January a big part of the decline was in business activity. There is also Markit services PMI at 9:45 a.m., and that is expected at 50.5 after a surprising decline to 49.8 in January.  Any reading below 50 signals contraction, and that drop had spooked traders.  Other releases scheduled for Thursday include the usual jobless claims, productivity and unit labor costs data all due at 8:30 a.m., followed by factory orders at 10:00 a.m.

 

 

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

 

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

·         Wednesday closed POSITIVE with 6 decliners, 35 advancers and 2 flats;

·         Tuesday closed POSITIVE with 14 decliners, 26 advances and 3 flats

·         Monday closed NEGATIVE with 24 decliners, 16 advancers and 2 flats;

·         Friday closed POSITIVE with 9 decliners, 32 advancers and 2 flats;

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

 

 

The stem, cell and gene therapy regenerative medicine (SCGT&RM) opened and stayed positive on Wednesday!

  • Always the contrarian, consider yourself lucky that the SCGT&RM sector produced yesterday’s mini-rally, providing you with an opportunity to exit at higher prices!

Are we in the throes of a suckers rally?

  • The current two (2) day bounce has been sharp <Wednesday closed with an A/DL of 35/6> but is it just a short-term “event” as we still have to wade through more financial results/earnings calls next week.

 

 

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

  • Bluebird bio (BLUE) closed UP +$3.35 to $53.86. Tuesday, the stock was up +$4.29 after being down -$3.21, the run ups and declining downs repeat and repeat. After the usual “spurt” speculators will still “nibble” the edges of appreciation. The after-market is -$0.36 – BUY to SELL;
  • Capricor (CAPR) closed UP +$0.06 to $2.19 with larger volume of 43.2 K <average 3 month volume = 22.3 K, thus the share fought for all the appreciation it could grab after being down -$0.22 and -$0.33 after being up+$0.16.  After announcing a new CFO, be ready for an OFFERING - the most recent attempt was a total failure! CAPR will be Out-of-CASH” by years-end – Maintaining SELL;
  • Harvard Apparatus RT (HART) closed +$0.06 60 $1.39. Review last night’s release - HART Appoints Laura Mondano as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs to Lead HART's 2016 IND Submission For its Bioengineered Organ Implant Solutions < http://finance.yahoo.com/news/hart-appoints-laura-mondano-vice-212600330.html >. HART’s new 'Celframe' technology utilizes new scaffold materials and design, a different type and concentration of the patient's own cells and certain other improvements to address the needs of affected patients . This new platform is currently being tested and developed further in a large-animal collaborative study with Mayo Clinic. HART is working to refine its new platform and to develop compelling data to pursue its goals of filing an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in late 2016 to initiate clinical trials for one of its three product candidates and compassionate use implantation surgeries. The after-market indication is +$0.04 – BUY;
  • Cesca Therapeutics (KOOL) closed DOWN -$0.01 to $0.24. KOOL's Board of Directors implemented the reverse stock split – 1:20 effective 3/4/16 with the objective of regaining compliance with the minimum bid price listing maintenance requirements of The NASDAQ Capital Market. These issues never resolve to the needs of investors – they usually lose - SELL;
  • Mesoblast (MESO) closed UP again +1.68 to $9.52 following +$1.30 on Tuesday after Monday’s +$0.48. The after-market indication is +0.74. Traders will get greedy after the latest swing so, I will stay a contrarian and again say – BUY;
  • Opexa (OPXA) closed DOWN -$0.06 to $2.29. OPXA axed 30% of its workforce to extend “runway” into Q1/17.  In a regulatory filing, Opexa Therapeutics (OPXA) disclosed implementing a re-structuring plan that includes a workforce reduction of 30% (11 positions) from its current staff of 36 employees, including CFO Karthik Radhakrishnan. The aim of the initiative is to reduce operating expenses and conserve cash so it may complete its P2b study, Abili-T, assessing lead product candidate Tcelna in patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. Top-line data are expected in Q4. The restructuring should extend the company's cash runway into Q1 2017. The after-market indication is -$0.09 – SELL;
  • Intrexon (XON) closed UP +$3.29 to $37.01 after being up +$2.78 after being down -$2.81. It’s still about the curse of the upside and traders selling into any strength. XON has an after-market indication post Tuesday’s close of -$0.72 –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.