Lower open expected, U.S. stock futures signal a pullback; RegMed investors’ analysis, sellers aren’t concerned about valuation

June 9, 2016 5:59am

… However, traders are paying attention to momentum and sentiment as related to volume

Where do investors turn for insight and perspective - I say intelligently what others won't, so you can do what others can't!

I offer a handful of pertinent facts defining the who, when, where, which and what of it!

Where is today’s market going? 

Indexes and ETFs: the XLV is FLAT, the IBB, XBI and IWM are DOWN

Investing actions: BLCM CAPR, KITE, MESO and ONVO

Dow futures are DOWN -0.37% and NASDAQ futures are DOWN -0.26%

U.S. stock index futures indicated a lower open on Thursday morning as traders eyed the morning's release of data as well as comments from Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank.

European stocks traded lower as Asian markets traded mostly weaker with sentiment hit by concerns over the health of the global economy.

Asia markets closed lower, as a weaker dollar weighed on Japan's shares and South Korean stocks failed to get a boost from a surprise interest rate cut.

Data docket: On the data front, initial claims are set to come out at 8:30 a.m. ET, with wholesale trade data due to be released at 10:00 a.m. An auction of $12 billion in 30-year bonds will also take place.

The stem, cell and gene therapy regenerative medicine (SCGT&RM) sector closed NEGATIVE on Tuesday, POSITIVE on Monday, NEGATIVE on Friday, POSITIVE on last Thursday.

The stem, cell and gene therapy regenerative medicine sector’s record after the last 5 days (of 43 covered companies):

• Wednesday closed barely NEGATIVE with 22 decliners, 20 advancers and 1 flat;
• Tuesday closed NEGATIVE with 32 decliners, 10 advancers and 1 flat;
• Monday closed POSITIVE with 12 decliners, 28 advancers and 3 flats;
• Friday closed NEGATIVE with 16 decliners, 26 advancers and 1 flat;
• Last, Thursday closed POSITIVE with 16 decliners, 24 advancers and 3 flats;

Remembering Wednesday’s post, ““Our” universe is on the verge of falling back into “damaged” territory, and I believe investors are not seeing it. Right now, I see the inaction as negative.”

• Traders supplemented by the algorithms, ETFs and indexes are selling into any rally on a consistent basis.

Rotations seem to evolve and alternate on a daily basis!

• That means buy-and-hold investors should be taking action to protect them.

Reiterating, it's a "market of stocks," not a "stock market."

For me, it’s back to the hospital this am to play chauffeur for MY “one-eyed” <post-surgery> “better-half” patient!

Wednesday’s active sector stocks and Thursday’s rotation candidates:

• Fibrocell (FCSC) -36.68%;
• Capricor (CAPR) -13.28%;
• uniQure (QURE) -10.84%;
• Adverum (ADVM) -7.74%;
• Intrexon (XON) -7.41%;
• StemCells (STEM) +9.23%;
• Cesca Therapeutics (KOOL) +5.56%;
• Brainstorm (BCLI) +4.53%;
• Stemline (STML) +3.69%;
• Aduro Biotech (ADRO) +3.43%

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 list:

• The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology (IBB) closed Wednesday down -0.08% and is DOWN -0.44% in Thursday’s pre-market;

• The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) closed Wednesday up +0.12%  and is DOWN -0.14% in Thursday’s  pre-market;

• NASDAQ Biotechnology (NBI) closed down Wednesday -0.08%;

• The Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) closed up Wednesday +0.35% and is FLAT in Thursday’s pre-market;

• The iShares Russell 2000 (IWM) closed Wednesday up +0.74% and is DOWN -0.32% in Thursday’s pre-market.

Companies in my spotlight:

Bellicum Pharma (BLCM) closed FLAT at $13.01 after being DOWN -$0.57. Bellicum is probably going to be bought out by one of its adoptive T cell rivals or perhaps even a bigger biotech looking to jump into this red-hot space, the fact of the matter is that a buyout rumor is never a good enough reason to buy any stock. And Bellicum is certainly no exception. The good news, though, is that Bellicum's core value drivers are still firing on all cylinders -- despite the moody market taking a butcher knife to its share price earlier this year. If anything, I think Bellicum looks like an even stronger buy now since my original recommendation. Here's why.  Bellicum's platform revolves around its proprietary Chemical Induction of Dimerization (CID) technology that's designed to make adoptive T cell therapies both safer and more potent. The long and short of it is that the company has developed a potentially best-in-class molecular switching platform using its CID technology that can be safely triggered by a small molecule called rimiducid. No specific reason as I feel it is oversold – Maintaining BUY;

Capricor (CAPR) closed DOWN -$0.24 to $3.45 after being UP +$0.46. June has seen appreciation <$3.11, $3.12, $3.23 and $3.23>but, has the pricing gotten ahead of itself – what has been the driving force? A financing is needed and what of the Jansen <J&J> option? I have been a critic and I won’t change – Maintaining SELL;

Kite (PHARMA) closed UP +$0.12 to $56.18 after being DOWN Tuesday -$1.36 after Monday’s +$5.34 after Friday’s -$2.79. KITE is riding the “horse” of receiving initial regulatory approvals next year for a type of immunotherapy treatment known as chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies. KITE aims to file this year for U.S. FDA approval of its therapy, KTE-C19, for patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) – Maintaining BUY;

Mesoblast (MESO) has been experiencing a trading halt and light could “shine” on the issues on Friday. Could MESO’s trading halt be related to its purchase of Osiris (OSIR) assets?

Organovo (ONVO) closed DOWN -$0.01 to $3.00. ONVO will host a conference call on Thursday, June 9, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. ET to discuss Q4/16 financial results. Traders usually sell pre any Qs – 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.