March 8, 2016 5:18pm

 

The stem, cell and gene therapy regenerative medicine sector pricing cycle ran out of steam with more than a little bit of profit-taking after a run-up …

 

Another question is how much of yesterday’s upside was built on short covering? Ranking Tuesday’s end-of-day pre-open trading indications – 3 hits and 2 misses. Subscribe:  http://www.regmedinvestors.com/create-account   

 

 

Investors suffer from the paradox of information overload. If you have a smartphone in your pocket, you can access more information about the financial markets than the world's top hedge funds did 20 years ago. Yet, I bet your investment returns have not improved one iota as a result.

·         But, who is interpreting that information … get it here!

 

 

U.S. stocks closed lower Tuesday, as a reversal in oil prices weighed and after weaker-than-expected Chinese trade data renewed concerns about global growth.

The NASDAQ closed DOWN -59.43 or -1.26% to 4,648.83 and the DOW closed DOWN -109.85 or -0.64% to 16,964.10.

 

 

A day in the life of the stem, cell and gene therapy RegMed (SCGT & RM) sector – the advance/decline line scenario of our 43 covered companies.

  • Tuesday, the stem, cell and gene therapy RegMed sector opened negative with an A/DL of 15/27 and 1 flat;
  •  The mid-day stayed negative with an A/DL of 9/34 and 0 flat;
  •  The closing bell rang positive with A/DL of 9/32 and 2 flats

 

 

Henry’omics:

The stem, cell and gene therapy RegMed (SCGT&RM) sector opened negative, stayed negative at the mid-day  and closed negative (of 43 covered companies).

  • I attributed the sharp drop as we're in a bit of a news vacuum this week. Q4/15 financial results/earnings are also not yet completed!

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, traded near 18.5 – trending up.

  • The Russell 2000, which had led much of the recent rally, also snapped a five-day win streak to close 2.4% lower.

So-called technical resistance was behind Tuesday’s downdraft as sector unrest plays back to the pattern of the previous week which also reflects badly on “our” universe!

 

The weekly pattern (of 43 covered companies) – so far:

  • Tuesday closed NEGATIVE wit 32 decliners, 9 advancers and 2 flats;
  • Monday closed POSITIVE with 12 advancers, 31 advancers and 1 flat;
  • Friday closed POSITIVE with 16 decliners, 24 advancers and 3 flat
  • Thursday closed NEGATIVE with 23 decliners, 18 advancers and 2 flats;
  • Wednesday closed POSITIVE with 6 decliners, 35 advancers and 2 flats;
  • Last, Tuesday closed POSITIVE with 14 decliners, 26 advances and 3 flats

 

So, what is the safety trade in the same old battle of being overbought to being profiteered? Wait a day or two for the sector to turn, the question is can your stomach take it!

 

 

Tuesday’s handicapping the sector pre-open indications – 3 hits and 2 miss: 

  • bluebird bio (BLUE) closed DOWN – hit;
  • Fibrocell (FCSC) closed DOWN – hit;
  • Juno Therapeutics (JUNO) closed DOWN – hit;
  • Intrexon (XON) closed DOWN – miss;
  • Pluristem (PST) closed DOWN – miss;

 

 

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

  • The market opened: NEGATIVE with 27 decliners, 15 advancers and 1 flat;
  • The mid-day (12:30 pm: NEGATIVE with 34 decliners, 9 advancers and 0 flat;
  • Closing bell: NEGATIVE with 32 decliners, 9 advancers and 2 flats

 

 

Review my fear gauge or the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) which is scary:

·         Tuesday traded near 18.5;

·         Monday traded near 17.5;

·         Friday traded at 16.5;

·         Thursday traded below 17;

·         Wednesday traded near 17, another decrease;

·         Last, Tuesday traded near 18 – 10% decrease;

 

 

Riding the indexes and ETFs roller-coaster:

The iShares Biotechnology Stocks ETF (IBB) closed DOWN on Tuesday -9.63 or -3.57%

·         Monday +6.63 or +2.52%

·         Friday -1.11 or -0.42%

·         Thursday -3.88 or -1.45%

·         Wednesday +2.85 or +1.07%

·         Last, Tuesday +11.18 or +4.40%

The NASDAQ Biotechnology index (NBI) closed DOWN on Tuesday -100.90 or -3.58%

·         Monday +66.97 or +2.43%

·         Friday -9.39 or -0.34

·         Thursday -39.41 or -1.41%

·         Wednesday +28.75 or +1.04%

·         Last, Tuesday +114.28 or +4.30%

The Russell 2000 (IWM) closed DOWN on Tuesday -2.61 or -2.40%

·         Monday +1.17 or +1.09%

·         Friday +0.59 or +0.55%

·         Thursday +1.11 or +1.05%

·         Wednesday +1.08 or +1.03%

·         Last, Tuesday +2.21 or +2.15%

The SPDR SD&P Biotech ETF (XBI) closed DOWN on Tuesday -2.83 or -5.26%

·         Monday +1.86 or +3.58%

·         Friday +0.24 or +0.46%

·         Thursday -0.58 or -1.11%

·         Wednesday +2.09 or +4.16%

·         Last, Tuesday +2.31 or +4.82%

 

 

Who was leading the declines – to of the bottom 5?

  • bluebird bio (BLUE) closed down -$6.12 to $49.00;
  • Spark therapeutics (ONCE) -$3.66 to $32.03;
  • Juno Therapeutics (JUNO) -$3.15 to $40.03;
  • Intrexon (XON) -$2.43 to $36.47;              
  • Kite Pharma (KITE) closed down -$2.00 to $51.60;

 

 

Who was UP – top 5:

  • VistaGen (VSTA) closed up +$1.48 to $7.98;
  • Mesoblast (MESO) +$0.37 to $8.30;
  • BioLife Solutions (BLFS) +$0.04 to $1.81;
  • ImmunoCellular (NYSEMKT: IMUC) +$0.0305 to $0.36;
  • Vericel (VCEL) closed up +$0.01 to $2.10

 

 

Who was FLAT?

  • Brainstorm (BCLI) at $2.48;
  • StemCells (STEM) at $0.375

 

 

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.