Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) -NYSE Lately, Merck was under the spot light after Idenix Pharmaceuticals deal, paying $3.85 Billion more than triple Idenix’s market capitalization before the deal , and to take part of the Hepatitis C battle, one of the hottest areas of drug development along with GILD, ABBV and BMY. But the […]
August 7 Biotech Update
A good start for the market but biotechs seemed to not be participating. While nothing in biotech stood out as particularly strong in the morning, it seems like small caps were slightly better than large caps. This was a trend I want to follow as it would mark a significant change in the sector as […]
August 6 Biotech Update
The market had some volatility yesterday and inversions seemed to be dealt a blow this morning. As such, I will focus on these two topics as they seem to be driving the majority of trading. 1. If you were watching the market yesterday, then you may have noticed what seemed like a random and significant […]
August 5 Biotech Update
It was an interesting morning in the market. The broader market was down but biotechs seemed to hold up pretty well but oddly it seemed like it was the small caps that did better. This is interesting because it is the large caps that tend to outperform as a flight to safety (if you can […]
August 4- Biotech Update
It was an interesting start to the week with Ebola and ASPIRE. It was strange that the sector was strong to start but seemed to hit a quick air pocket. Given how far the market has sold off, I would be very surprised not to see a bounce back this week but the market needs […]
Recent Option Activity (7/29 ~ 8/1)
The following stocks had recent and notable activity in their options: $EXAS (7/29): 8,000 OCT 20.0 Strike Calls were sold (stock at $15.78) for 0.50 or total proceeds of $400,000 against a 800,000 share position (this was a covered Call). Trade provides $0.50 of protection to the downside (and takes position out above $20). $DEPO […]
August 1 Biotech Update
Market was quite week in the pre-market and has recovered from those lows but has seemed to turn lower. Over the near term I think the upside is slightly higher than the downside, although I would not be surprised to see another leg lower before we get the bounce. Over the medium term, I think […]
SPY – A Quick Look at The Broader Market
SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) –NYSE Yesterday we got a sharp turn in the SP-500 as the daily chart of the SPY (S&P 500 ETF) drops sharply and breaks down the uptrend channel for the first time after two months of uptrend within the channel. Breaking down the 50-Day moving average as well which was supposed be […]
July 31 Biotech Update
The market has certainly been pretty poor since the spike on the GDP print, which is not a great near term signal. As would be expected biotechs are following the broader market lower but not really underperforming more than one would expect for a highly volatile sector. Of course the small caps are getting hit […]
July 30 Biotech Update
The sector and market rallied nicely on the GDP but I am still not convinced that we have an all clear. It was especially disconcerting how quickly the market gave back a lot of the post GDP print gains. Of course, there are still values out there and no reason to sell and run for […]
Catalyst Watch – Vol. 2, Edition 23 (7/29/14)
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 published (or are noted), are subject to potential future, pre-catalyst revision and are not intended as investment recommendations. Please read our Disclaimer: (1) Catalyst Watch List: AEZS: I continue […]
July 29 Biotech Update
I had a great email last night that asked me to compare FMI and ILMN and so today I will go a step further and have a day of rumbles with FMI vs ILMN, CNAT vs GALT, and MRK vs PFE. I would talk a little about the broader market and sector but at this […]
July 28 Biotech Update
Not a great start to the week but the sector seems to be tracking the broader market selloff. I am really of two minds in that there are many reasons to expect the broader market to hit a significant air pocket as it seems pricey by a number of traditional valuation methods (CAPE and so […]
July 25 Biotech Update
Market is pulling back a little and taking everything with it. I think we will get a much better sense of how the sector is reacting to the large cap earnings next week as the stocks either pullback further, consolidate, or grind higher. Today I want to follow up on a couple of issues of […]
July 24 Biotech Update
A busy day in the sector and I want to highlight some broad themes and then perhaps revisit with details where appropriate in the next day or two. In general, the earnings are pretty much in line and do nothing to dampen the growth stories of the large cap biotechs. The stock action so far […]
July 28 Biotech Update
Earnings season is off to a good start with both a nice quarter from BIIB and the positive phase III data from PBYI. It is encouraging that good news is being rewarded but the key is going to be how well this spike maintains over the next days and weeks. Given the positive pin action […]
July 22 Biotech Update
Today and tomorrow are more of the same in that we seem to be in a holding pattern for the large cap earnings. So I will keep this short and sweet as there is not really a ton to talk about. As I have noted before, the reaction to the earnings is going to be […]
July 21 Biotech Update
It was a quite start to the week with the markets a little weak, which is probably more related to macro concerns than anything specific to the market. This is not to say that valuation concerns do not exist but I still get the sense that the Ukraine and Gaza are keeping investors on edge […]
July 18 Biotech Update
I am back after my three day trip to NYC and while it seemed that the sector took a hit, today’s action seems to be a good start to recapture a lot of the losses. My point is not that the pullback was insignificant but more that it seems more like a pause/pullback that refreshes […]
Tekmira – Is It The Bottom Yet
Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp (TKMR) –Nasdaq Tekmira is the new “fallen star” after the wild run started Jan 07th, 2014 from $7.66, and reaching the all time high $31.48 mid March. But that was the inflection point as well, the price start dropping fast with no stops or even real technical correction, reaching the support […]
