May 13, 2016 6:53am
That's the good news; I’m still waiting for any news that’s anchored
Companies mentioned: BSTG, CYTX and KITE
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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 are DOWN -0.35% and NASDAQ futures are DOWN -0.28%
U.S. stock index futures were lower on Friday morning, as traders eyed April's U.S. retail sales report. Retail sales and PPI are due at 8:30 a.m. ET.
European stocks traded lower following declines in U.S. and Asian markets overnight and a slide in the oil price.
Asia markets retreated further, with Japanese stocks coming under pressure from fresh strength in the yen against the dollar.
Data docket: consumer sentiment and business inventories are due at 10:00 a.m.
The stem, cell and gene therapy regenerative medicine (SCGT&RM) sector closed NEGATIVE on Thursday, Wednesday and Tuesday, POSITIVE on Monday, NEGATIVE on Friday and last Thursday.
The stem, cell and gene therapy regenerative medicine sector’s record after the last 5 days (of 43 covered companies):
- Thursday closed NEGATIVE with 36 decliners, 5 advancers and 2 flats;
- Wednesday closed NEGATIVE with 30 decliners, 11 advancers and 2 flats;
- Tuesday closed NEGATIVE with22 decliners, 18 advancers and 3 flats;
- Monday closed POSITIVE with 14 decliners, 26 advancers and 3 flats:
- Last, Friday closed NEGATIVE with 25 decliners, 16 advancers and 2 flats;
A reminder from Thursday’s closing post, “Take a look at the trend as it indicates more cyclical/riskier stocks are being positioned lower! Weak days occur too frequently as traders, not investors but algorithms shift their emphasis to volatile stocks, sending prices lower <my conspiracy theory> and then higher to profit from the upside.”
- There is a lot of good in “our” universe however, investors are confused - companies need to dispense with some of the badly positioned or hyperbole oriented news.
The more CEOs confuse shareholders, the weaker their shareholdings will become and leave them with the day-trading speculators who will drop you on a “tick”!
- These words have escaped many a management team. You can slice and dice past performance, but you will be caught in the future; maybe with a $0.61 priced share that traded at $3.75 when you “assumed” the mantle.
You’ve made it to the office, turned on the monitor, having just gotten your coffee and it hits you - what could be today’s trades?
Watch, wait and listen list:
- The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology (IBB) closed Thursday down -1.71% and is DOWN -0.69% in Friday’s pre-market;
- The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) closed Thursday down -2.09% and is DOWN -0.08% in Friday’s pre-market;
- NASDAQ Biotechnology (NBI) closed down Thursday -1.68%;
- The Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) closed Thursday down -0.59% and is DOWN -0.01% in Friday’s pre-market;
- The iShares Russell 2000 (IWM) closed Thursday down -0.53% and is DOWN -0.86% in Thursday’s pre-market.
Company in the spotlight:
- Biostage (BSTG) closed DOWN -$0.35 to $1.89 after Wednesday’s -$0.05 after Tuesday’s +$0.01 and Monday’s close of $2.28. BSTG offered up groundbreaking esophageal pre-clinical data and day traders and speculators “stole” any appreciation and then some! The net loss was lower for Q1/16 at $2.5 M, or $0.18 per basic share, compared to $2.6 M, or $0.39 per basic share in Q1/15 - their Q1 EPS beat by $0.05. R&D expense increased $200 K to $1.4 M for Q1/16 compared to $1.2 M for Q1/15 due primarily to increased spending on outsourced preclinical studies of $300 K and laboratory costs of $100 K, partially offset by a decrease in compensation-related costs of $200 K. Look at the results that were garnered – basically on the cheap. SG&A expense decreased $300 K to $1.1 M compared with $1.4 M for Q1/15 due to a decrease in compensation-related costs related primarily to the departure of the former Chairman and CEO in April 2015. Cash used in operating activities increased to $2.5 M as compared to $1.7 M in Q1/15; so didn’t breakthrough clinical results. Cash on hand at March 31, 2016 was $4.8 M. BSTG continues to have in place its $15 M, 30 months stock purchase agreement with Aspire Capital Fund. The after-market indication is -$0.05 and I take exception - Maintaining BUY;
- Cytori (CYTX) closed UP +$2.49 or +1,104.4% to $2.71 after a 1 for 15 reverse. History has a “tell”, it will depreciate while Maxim prepares a rights offering. CYTX ended Q1/16 with $9.4 M of cash and cash equivalents - SELL;
- Kite Pharma (KITE) closed DOWN -$1.10 and has an after-market indication of -$0.31 - 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.
