May 18, 2017 8:06am
And get the <buying> plasma into their system ...
Hopefully this stimulates share price healing - especially with injuries after market free-falls
Lower open expected
Companies in my headlights: eleven (11), 7 BUYS and 4 SELLs
Critical information ahead of “our” universe’s open! I provide intelligence and analysis for short and near-term investment.
Expectation is the word for 2017 – meeting the unknowns with the soon to be exposed concerns will be the subject of investing decisions throughout this year.
Dow futures are DOWN –0.27% and NASDAQ futures are DOWN -0.10%
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open Thursday on concerns about President Donald Trump's future and his ability to deliver on his pro-growth agenda.
European markets slid to two-week lows as mounting political uncertainty in the U.S. exacerbated concerns among investors as to whether President Donald Trump would be able to deliver on key pro-growth policies.
Asian equities lost ground, while U.S. futures meandered, amid U.S. political turmoil accelerated with the appointment of a special counsel to take over the investigation into Russia's involvement in the U.S. presidential election last year.
Data docket: the release of jobless claims and the Philly Fed Survey at 8:30 ET.
The cell therapy sector closed NEGATIVE on Wednesday, POSITIVE on Tuesday, Monday and Friday and NEGATIVE last Thursday.
The cell therapy sector’s record after the last 5 days (of 43 covered companies):
· Wednesday closed NEGATIVE with 38 decliners, 5 advances and 0 flats;
· Tuesday closed POSITIVE with 19 decliners, 23 advancers and 1 flat;
· Monday closed POSITIVE with 12 decliners, 27 advancers and 4 flats;
· Friday closed POSITIVE with 12 decliners, 30 advancers and 1 flat;
· Last Thursday closed NEGATIVE with 21 decliners, 19 advancers and 3 flats;
Remembering Wednesday’s closing bell newsletter, “The falling knife drew serious blood as external influences wrack the sector and market … We just couldn’t escape the declines of the IBB dropping -2.27%, the VIX increasing 46.38% and the IWM drubbing -2.70%.”
- Reiterating, “This is a temporary phenomenon and considered BUYING opportunism – maybe not for all - tomorrow or Friday - it will come by next week!”
Uncertainty is never good for the sector but risk as I have stated is a four letter expletive - just look at what we have gone through as Q1/17 reporting wraps up!
Markets punish, reward and we get to come back another day!
What did I see on Wednesday, the DOW closed down -1.78% (-372.82) and The NASDAQ closed DOWN -2.57% (-158.63) while volatility traded at 15.59
The count - gainers: look at the differences in the spreads and advance/decline lines:
Wednesday’s decliners ranged from -0.47% <BLFS> to -9.23% <OSIR> in 39 equities;
Tuesday’s decliners ranged from -0.19% <ONCE> to -23.27% <IMUC> in 19 equities;
Monday’s decliners ranged from -0.04% <KITE> to -4.41% <MESO> in 12 equities;
Friday’s decliners ranged from -0.13% <MDXG> to -61.97% <CAPR> in 12 equities;
Last Thursday’s decliners ranged from -0.20% <CLBS> to -5.04% <AGTC> in 21 equities;
While …
Wednesday’s gainers ranged from +0.72% <AXGN> to +6.83% <ISCO> in 4 equities;
Tuesday’s gainers ranged from +0.06% <BLUE> to +10.33% <OPXA> in 23 equities;
Monday’s gainers ranged from +0.19% <BSTG> to +9.50% <FCSC> in 27 equities;
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 -2.27%, the aftermarket was up +0.02% and is indicating a positive +0.26% in Thursday’s pre-market;
- The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) closed Wednesday down -2.11%, the aftermarket was down -0.18% and is NOT indicating in Thursday pre-market;
- The Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) closed down -1.31% Wednesday, the aftermarket indication was negative -0.01% and is NOT indicating in Thursday’s pre-open;
- The iShares Russell 2000 (IWM) closed down -2.70% on Wednesday and is indicating a negative -0.24% in Thursday’s pre-open
Companies in my headlights:
Athersys (ATHX) closed down -$0.04 to $1.46 with a negative aftermarket indication of -$0.10 or -6.85% - SELL;
AxoGen (AXGN) closed up +$0.10 to $14.05 following Tuesday’s $13.95 (+0.35) after Monday’s $13.60 (+$0.45) after Friday’s $13.15 (+$0.55). May opened at $12.80 and had a high of $13.15 and a low of $11.75. April started at $10.28 with a low of $10.28 and a high of $12.20 and also ended at $12.20. I also like the $12.2 M revenue number and margin spurt, but the debt issue of $25 M and the cash position of $25.9 M keeps me wary of pricing. The aftermarket indication is a negative -$0.15 or -1.08% – Maintaining SELL;
Bellicum Pharmaceuticals (BLCM) closed down -$0.67 to $12.37. An OVERSOLD candidate. The aftermarket indication is a positive +$0.18 or +1.46% - BUY;
Biostage (BSTG) closed down -$0.01 to $0.30. 5/18/17 is the six (6) month anniversary of its last NASDAQ de-listing letter and now it’s decision time to execute a reverse or just elect another six (6) months of an under $1.00 pricing – SELL;
bluebird bio (BLUE) closed down -$2.50 to $86.10 after Tuesday’s $88.60 and Monday’s $88.55. May started at $90.60 with a low of $86.10 and a high of $93.20 while April ended at $88.95 that started at $88.55. One word, FEAR of heights and the aftermarket indication is negative -$0.75 or -0.85% - SELL;
Capricor (CAPR) closed down -$0.07 to $0.93. A number of their investors recognized they can’t fall too far below any listing NASDAQ requirement. The aftermarket indication is a positive +$0.07 or +7.3%. Not a fan but, the numbers speak for itself - BUY;
Juno Therapeutics (JUNO) closed down -$1.83 to $24.52 following Tuesday’s $26.35 (+$0.98) after Monday’s $25.37 (+$1.25). The aftermarket indication is a positive +0.23 or +0.94% – SELL to BUY;
Kite Pharma (KITE) closed down -$5.06 to $70.59 following Tuesday’s $75.65 (+$0.25) after Monday’s $75.40 (-$0.03) following Friday’s $75.43 (+$0.38). May started at $83.06 with a low so far of $70.99 while April started at 78.22 with a low of $74.57, a high of $82.80 and finished at $82.08, Strength does erode, the pre-market indication is a negative -$0.85 or -1.12% – Maintaining SELL;
Neuralstem (CUR) closed down -$0.11 to $4.01. The aftermarket indication is a positive +$0.05 or +1.25% - BUY;
Sangamo (SGMO) closed down -$0.55 to $7.45. The FDA has granted fast-track designation to pipeline candidate, SB-525, clinical stage cDNA gene therapy candidate for hemophilia A. SB-525 already enjoys orphan drug status in the U.S. The candidate is being developed as part of an exclusive, global collaboration and license agreement with Pfizer (PFE). Earlier this month, SGMO had announced an exclusive, global collaboration and license agreement with Pfizer for the development and commercialization of gene therapy programs for Hemophilia A – BUY;
Spark Therapeutics (ONCE) closed down -$2.71 to $53.98. ONCE completed the rolling submission of a Biologics License Application (BLA) with the U.S. FDA for voretigene neparvovec, an investigational, one-time gene therapy for the treatment of patients with vision loss due to confirmed biallelic RPE65 mutation-associated retinal disease. The BLA submission includes data from three (3) clinical trials that enrolled 41 participants with RPE65-mediated IRD, including the first randomized, controlled P3 trial for a gene therapy for a genetic disease. OVERSOLD, the aftermarket indication is a positive +$0.66 or +1.66% - BUY;
Verastem (VSTM) closed down -$0.11 to $2.24. Another oversold, the aftermarket indication is a positive +$0.01 or +0.45% - BUY;
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.
Henry’s comments are for informational purposes only and are not a substitute for personalized advice. Consult your advisor about what is best for you.
