March 11, 2016 6:29pm
To invest in “our” universe, one must understand the line-up of the sector’s “Usual Suspects”
Who is our Keyser Söze?
Ranking Friday’s end-of-day pre-open trading indications – 2 hits and 1 misses. Subscribe: http://www.regmedinvestors.com/create-account
There is one thing that everyone needs, and that's interpretation and translation of intelligence, not just news or information of that - we get too much!
· To that end, I developed a matrix of variables designed for investor’s consideration concerning the stem, cell and gene therapy regenerative medicine portfolio and its pricing metric;
· The takeaway is that investor need to decide what actions to take, or not take, based on their specific situation.
U.S. stocks closed sharply higher Friday as oil prices rose and investors took a more positive view of Thursday's European Central Bank announcements on stimulus.
The NASDAQ closed UP +86.31 or +1.85% to 4,748.47 and the DOW closed +218.18 or +1.28% to 17,213.31.
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.
- Friday, the stem, cell and gene therapy RegMed sector opened positive with an A/DL of 29/10 and 4 flats;
- The mid-day stayed positive with an A/DL of 32/10 and 1 flat;
- The closing bell rang positive with A/DL of 34/7 and 2 flat
Henry’omics:
The stem, cell and gene therapy regenerative medicine (SCGT&RM) sector opened positive , stayed positive at the mid-day and closed positive (of 43 covered companies).
- “The usual suspects” is a noir movie where there’s a variety of adventures and colorful characters, including Kobayashi: “Is he the man, or is he the man behind the curtain?”
The story also has endings that cast doubt on the reality of what the audience just saw.
- “Our” universe, the stem, cell and gene therapy regenerative medicine sector line-up views a few CEO fakers, some posers and a few real deals;
Investors wonder “Who is the next upside” like the movie set up that is so the central question becomes “Is cell therapy dead or alive?”
- Thus, like the sector being misunderstood or the movie is also misinterpreted; as investors are also caught off-guard when the Keyser Söze question is answered.
What the SCGT&RM constantly emphasizes the question “Who is Keyser Söze or the winners of these development stages as they are constantly undermined more than a little.
The SCGT&RM sector’s run-up after an alternating week is the one doing the talking - caution … as we “traverse” the gauntlet:
· Friday closed POSITIVE with 7 decliners, 34 advancers and 2 flat;
· Thursday closed NEGATIVE with 27 decliners, 15 advancers and 1 flat;
· Wednesday closed POSITIVE with 19 decliners, 23 advancers and 1 flat;
· Tuesday closed NEGATIVE with 32 decliners, 9 advancers and 2 flats;
· Monday closed POSITIVE with 12 advancers, 31 advancers and 1 flat;
· Last, Friday closed POSITIVE with 16 decliners, 24 advancers and 3 flat
My pet peeve:
- High-frequency trading accounted for 49% of March's daily trading volume of about 8.75 billion shares <TABB Group>.
Friday’s handicapping the sector pre-open indications – 2 hits and 1 miss:
- Athersys (ATHX) closed UP – hit;
- Vericel (VCEL) closed UP – miss;
- uniQure (QURE) closed UP – hit;
Dosing the sector – what a day for the 43 Patients:
- The market opened: POSITIVE with 10 decliners, 32 advancers and 4 flats;
- The mid-day (12:30 pm: POSITIVE with 10 decliners, 32 advancers and 1 flat;
- Closing bell: POSITIVE with 7 decliners, 34 advancers and 2 flats
Review my fear gauge or the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) which is scary:
· Friday traded below 17;
· Thursday traded above 19;
· Wednesday traded near 18.5;
· Tuesday traded near 18.5;
· Monday traded near 17.5;
· Last, Friday traded at 16.5;
Riding the indexes and ETFs roller-coaster:
The iShares Biotechnology Stocks ETF (IBB) closed DOWN on Friday +6.86 or +2.69%
· Thursday -1.62 or -0.63%
· Wednesday -3.00 or -1.15%
· Tuesday -9.63 or -3.57%
· Monday +6.63 or +2.52%
· Last, Friday -1.11 or -0.42%
The NASDAQ Biotechnology index (NBI) closed DOWN on Friday +71.65 or +2.69%
· Thursday -21.07 or -0.78%
· Wednesday –31.50 or -1.16%
· Tuesday -100.90 or -3.58%
· Monday +66.97 or +2.43%
· Last, Friday -9.39 or -0.34
The Russell 2000 (IWM) closed DOWN on Friday +2.27 or +2.14%
· Thursday -0.87 or -0.81%
· Wednesday +0.54 or +0.51%
· Tuesday -2.61 or -2.40%
· Monday +1.17 or +1.09%
· Last, Friday +0.59 or +0.55%
The SPDR SD&P Biotech ETF (XBI) closed DOWN on +1.66 or +3.34%
· Thursday -0.87 or -1.72%
· Wednesday -0.47 or -0.92%
· Tuesday -2.83 or -5.26%
· Monday +1.86 or +3.58%
· Last, Friday +0.24 or +0.46%
Who was leading the declines – to of the bottom 5?
- Aduro Biotech (ADRO) closed down -$0.45 to $13.89;
- International Stem cell (OTC: ISCO) -$0.16 to $3.49;
- Osiris (OSIR) -$0.08 to $5.41;
- AxoGen (AXGN) -$0.03 to $5.14;
- Immunocellular (NYSEMKT: IMUC) closed down -$0.264 to $0.328;
Who was UP – top 5:
- bluebird bio (BLUE) closed up +$3.28 to $48.22;
- Intrexon (XON) +$2.98 to $37.97;
- Kite Pharma (KITE) +$2.34 to $50.64;
- Spark Therapeutics (ONCE) +$1.94 to $33.82;
- Regenxbio (RGNX) closed up +$1.11 to $12.92
Who was FLAT?
- Neuralstem (CUR) at $0.99;
- VistaGen (VSTA) at $8.00;
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.
