August 31 Biotech Update

Looks like a slightly lower start to the week. Macro still obviously matters but the size of the moves seems to be decreasing. I find it interesting that the weakness comes after Fisher had a relatively hawkish Fed talk at Jackson Hole, where he noted that the Fed could raise rates before they saw inflation. […]

August 28 Biotech Update

I was busy for a day and the market does great but I come back and we have a gap lower. Sorry. In all seriousness, however, the snap back rally needs to pause but given the sell-off, I think we need to see the market shake off the gap lower and end higher today. We […]

August 26 Biotech Update

The market had a rough day yesterday where the rally from the “lows” earlier in the week faded at the end of the day. That is never a good sign and at this point we need to ignore the gaps higher until they strengthen into the end of the day as opposed to fade. I […]

August 25 Biotech Update

Despite ending the day down significantly, it actually felt like a good day. I wanted to post a real quick and short note as from now on Tuesday and Thursday are going to be quite busy. So I will try to post on those days if possible but do not be surprised if nothing comes […]

August 24 Biotech Update

Wow. What a start to the week. In terms of news there was not much but we had an incredible flash crash in the large caps at the open. From a technical perspective, I do not know if this signals an end or what but there were some great long term bargains that I missed […]

August 21 Biotech Update

So it is obviously getting rough and we got our first peeks of panic yesterday. Most everyone seems to think that the worst is yet to come and I would not be surprised to see even more downside but obviously the contrarian in me wants to move to the other side of the boat when […]

August 20 Biotech Update

Another gap lower but the market remains in a rut refusing to breakdown or breakout. As I have said before, 2015 has been a year of churn and that is going to end up being really robust support for a breakout or really strong resistance for a breakdown. At this point, there is not a […]

August 19 Biotech Update

Not much has changed sector wide since I last wrote but we did have a trade play out, although not quite the way I expected. I want to talk about it today both because there have been some questions around it but also because it goes to the larger theme I think is at work […]

August 14 Biotech Update

We had the continuation yesterday only to fail later in the day. It is looking that this bounce might only be setting up another leg lower but it is clearly too early to have any confidence. That being said I would at least be prepared in case there is another leg lower as it would […]

August 13 Biotech Update

We had our reversal yesterday that I talked about, although I had my doubts for a little while. That is probably enough to get some buying interest barring additional negative macro issues. China did a third round of devaluations but I suspect it will have less of an effect on the market given it is […]

August 12 Biotech Update

Essentially more of the same yesterday and into the morning today. At the very least, I think we are probably close to a bounce and would not be surprised to see a gap lower this morning and then a rally into the green by the end of the day. It is amazing that the market […]

August 11 Biotech Update

Not a lot of biotech news again but macro is creeping back into the discussion with China devaluing their currency. Who knows the pin action this will have on the sector as it could mean global growth is too slow and biotechs are then the best growers. It could mean that it will trigger more […]

August 10 Biotech Update

We are getting a spurt of IO collaborations this morning but no major news or M&A. After the sell off Friday (and come back), I would not be surprised to see that positive momentum continue this morning. Worst case scenario would be early strength and then faded all day. Best case, obviously, would be early […]

August 7 Biotech Update

I am not able to write for a couple of days and the market goes to crap, I figured you all would be able to keep down the fort better than that. As much as it seems like a beating (it is) I do not think we are seeing the bubble burst (of course, I […]

August 4 Biotech Update

Looks like the sector was saving the fireworks for today with a lot more news. The reaction so far seems a little tepid given the positives but it is early and I think some are a little worried about the broader market. The collapse in oil may unfortunately signal a return to the macro market […]

August 3 Biotech Update

It is a pretty tame start to the week. I am a little surprised given that there seemed to be some bullish late Friday price and option action with concomitant rumors. It seemed like the week would start with a bang but we pretty much had crickets. Given the role that M&A has played in […]

July 31 Biotech Update

Not a lot of news so I want to round out a couple of issues this morning and close it out for the week. I am finding it more and more difficult to note whether the sector is strong or weak, which makes me think the best description is choppy. Overall it seems like modest […]

July 30 Biotech Update

The sector is pretty weak, which is a continuation of the past couple of days. It is not immediately clear to me the reason for the weakness as earnings have been almost universally good (notable exception being BIIB). Given the lack of news, I will spend today brainstorming some ideas for the weakness as well […]

July 29 Biotech Update

The sector was a strong performer after the bell but it did not seem to last long. The sector should be strong given the bulk of the earnings but I cannot shake the feeling that sentiment has slipped. Perhaps it is the broader market acting as a drag but I am not convince the sector […]

July 28 Biotech Update

The sector looked like it would be off to a good start but it faded quickly. I would still argue that any movement before the GILD earnings can be quickly changed, so the trading action tomorrow is much more important than anything today. Not a ton of major news but a decent amount of tidbits, […]