Not a lot going on today, which works out well as it has been a busy day for me outside of biotech. The market seemed to find its footing a little and biotechs appeared (dare I say it) a shade stronger than usual. A day does certainly not make a trend but I suspect that […]
ACHN – In Consolidation Mode
Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ACHN – Nasdaq) On July 1, 2013 the FDA placed a clinical hold on Achillion’s hep C drug and the shares plunged 22% from $8.36 to $6.17 the next morning. Since then the shares have traded sideways in a horizontal channel between $6.12 to $7.32. In the second quarter earnings press release Achillion […]
Week’s Option Activity (9/16~9/20)
The following stocks had notable activity in their options during the past week: $GERN (9/17): 5,000 OCT 2.00 strike Puts (stock at $2.26) were purchased for 0.14 or $70,000. This appears to be an opening trade where the buyer makes money if the shares trade below $1.86 by expiration. This could also be a long […]
September 23rd EOD
It was a weak day in biotech (although it seemed to recover a little in the afternoon) and some of the biggest biotech bulls are turning cautious. Mike King of JMP was out with a note this morning talking about taking money off the table. He is still a long term biotech bull but thinks […]
Upcoming Fall medical conferences
With Fall approaching quickly, we head into one of the busier periods of medical conference presentations. In the next month, we have several widely followed conferences approaching and abstract releases for a number of others. Below are some of the key conferences that we will be tracking with some analysis to follow in subsequent articles. […]
Catalyst Watch – Vol. 1, Edition 1 (9/20/13)
Below are current tactical and strategic thoughts on approaching FDA and clinical trial catalysts for select names. Estimates, values and views are as of the date of publishing (or are noted) and are subject to potential future, pre-catalyst revision: Ticker: VNDA ($13.16) Catalyst: AdCom for Tasimelteon Date/Timing: November 14, 2013 CRG View: Bearish Cash: $151.9m […]
September 20- Daily Update – SRPT
Obviously the big news of the day was the failure of drisapersen in their phase III trial and what it means for etperlirsen and SRPT. While it is not clear if this was RNA related but biotechs were generally weak, although not dramatically so. Before diving into the drisapersen, I want to touch on a […]
September 19- EOD
It was a relatively quiet news day. I was not sure there would be much to write about and there is nothing really new or compelling. There are some quick hitters for today and hopefully we can get some more news going tomorrow and next week. 1. I wrote a response to the ARIA bear […]
September 18- EOD
It was Fed day today, so the market was very macro driven in terms of price action. The Bernank doubled down on easing, which was a good macro environment. That being said biotechs were more mixed. I am actually starting to look at biopharma as more QE will likely lead to yield chasing. There were […]
September 18- EOD
It was Fed day today, so the market was very macro driven in terms of price action. The Bernank doubled down on easing, which was a good macro environment. That being said biotechs were more mixed. I am actually starting to look at biopharma as more QE will likely lead to yield chasing. There were […]
September 18- EOD
It was Fed day today, so the market was very macro driven in terms of price action. The Bernank doubled down on easing, which was a good macro environment. That being said biotechs were more mixed. I am actually starting to look at biopharma as more QE will likely lead to yield chasing. There were […]
September 17- EOD
Not a lot of stock specific news but some interesting larger biotech developments. The market held up better than I thought given yesterday’s close and biotechs seemed like slight underperformers but not to the same degree as yesterday. That being said I think the CLVS news seemed to bring in some buyers, so they ended […]
September 16- EOD
It was a strong day in the market but a weak day in biotech. That being said I think there was a definite pattern in that the large caps and biopharmas seemed to outperform (although they were still weaker than the market) than the mid- and small- caps. In my mind, I read that as […]
September 16- EOD
It was a strong day in the market but a weak day in biotech. That being said I think there was a definite pattern in that the large caps and biopharmas seemed to outperform (although they were still weaker than the market) than the mid- and small- caps. In my mind, I read that as […]
September 16- EOD
It was a strong day in the market but a weak day in biotech. That being said I think there was a definite pattern in that the large caps and biopharmas seemed to outperform (although they were still weaker than the market) than the mid- and small- caps. In my mind, I read that as […]
Week’s Option Activity (9/3~9/13)
The following stocks had notable activity in their options during the past week(s): $RPRX (9/3): Several large trades today. First, 1,580 OCT 30.0 strike Calls (stock at $21.14) were bought for 1.20 or $189,600 – buyer makes money if stock trades north of $31.20 by October expiration. Second, what appears to be a SEP ratioed […]
GERN – Quick Take on Geron
Geron shares have run up substantially in recent days on speculation of positive results for its telomerase inhibitor imetelstat in an investigator sponsored study for the treatment of myelofibrosis. During the August 8th Q2 conference call, management noted the second 11 patient cohort had completed enrollment and met the pre-specified criteria of at least 2 […]
September 13- EOD
Generally a mixed day in biotech land today with some interesting stock specific moves but nothing really dramatic in terms of news. Looks like a quiet end to the week with stocks essentially performing in line with the broader market. 1. ECYT was up nicely today on the back of a Seeking Alpha article by […]
September 12- EOD
Another relatively weak day in biotech land but this is not to say that the market in general was particularly strong. It is not surprising that both the market and biotechs seems to be taking a breather and would also not be surprising to see it last more than a few days. That being said, […]
September 12- EOD
Another relatively weak day in biotech land but this is not to say that the market in general was particularly strong. It is not surprising that both the market and biotechs seems to be taking a breather and would also not be surprising to see it last more than a few days. That being said, […]