October 4 Biotech Update

Today is certainly a better start. It seems that the sector is trading to a certain extent on macro issues with the DB concerns leading to risk on versus risk off action. The sector will always be a victim to large risk off moves, so if the DB situation resolves I would not be surprised […]

October 3 Biotech Update

Not the best start to the week for the market or sector but there really seems to be little conviction on this move. So we meander lower and the sector moves with the broader market. I think the market it getting closer to its next big move as we are closing in on four months […]

September 13 Biotech Update

I was a little late heading into the office this morning and had not been following the news and so I was a little surprised to see the market down so much. This is oddly schizophrenic on really little news. Down big on Friday on a rate hike tantrum (a little dramatic but understandable). Up […]

September 9 Biotech Update

Not a good day today (seems like rising rates freak out). I may not have been paying very close attention to the market but this seems like a drop on no meaningful market data or information (market tends to throw periodic fits when they increase the odds of a rate hike). The broader market seems […]

August 24 Biotech Update

Sector is doing well in essentially a flat market, although volumes generally remain low. It is the summer doldrums so the sector is not unique for low volumes. We have some interesting news to talk about and while I am not sure they are moving the sector, they certainly could be contributing. 1. CLVS reported […]

August 10 Biotech Update

The market continues to consolidate and I expect this trend to continue over the near term. If I am correct that this is simply a consolidation in a new bull market for the sector (and it is difficult to make that claim given how bad the sector has been but at this point I am […]

August 9 Biotech Update

We certainly have seen some recent under-performance by the sector but given recent strength and run of bad news (trial failures, secondaries, and so on) this is not stunning. So I do not read anything meaningful into this weakness as long as we maintain a higher low and given the recent price action that would […]

August 8 Biotech Update

The sector seems to be struggling a little but it would not be stunning to see some underperformance and consolidation after the recent run. We continue to get earnings headlines but the vast majority of sector moving calls and earnings are passed. 1. EPZM reported earnings and there is nothing new in it, so it […]

August 5 Biotech Update

I was not going to write today but snuck into office with my kids in tow for a quick note on BMY. 1. This was a major surprise and critically important for BMY. ISI wrote that they believed the first line NSCLC market was $7B-$8B of the $12B 2021 opdivo estimates. That is pure speculation […]

July 29 Biotech Update

The news is slowing down a little this week but the earnings continue for the large caps. So far as a group the earnings look good indicating solid fundamentals with the companies. The stocks have been reacting well and the sector has been moving higher and outperforming. This move higher raises the bar for the […]

June 30 Biotech Update

More of the relief rally in the markets and to a certain extent the sector. As has been the case with most of the rallies in the sector, the trading desks are calling it a short covering rally more than long only money being put to work. As I have been saying in response is […]

May 27 Biotech Update

Yesterday was not a great day but after the run having a treading water sort of trading is not the worst outcome. At the worst, we were trading in line with the market and the key will be what we do after the recent move has been digested. The trend has been higher, so the […]

December 14 Biotech Update

We are once again in a macro world and the sector will be driven by it. Of course, even if we were not in a macro world the sector would likely still be underperforming as ASH did not inspire a lot of confidence and the sector offers a lot of chances for tax loss selling […]

November 18 Biotech Update

It seems like every time I am out of town something major happens. I have not really followed the sector trading, so I cannot really comment on that but obviously there is some major news that will be the focus of a couple of articles. 1. As much as one tries to avoid blowups, if […]

October 29 Biotech Update

As I noted before, it appears that the sector is improving and while I would not say it has turned, I would argue that the odds are better that the next large move will be higher rather than lower. This would especially be the case if we start to see M&A pick up. The potential […]

October 12 Biotech Update

Another start to the week and another week without the M&A that many think is needed to move the sector higher. I worry a little about that argument as one would like to see the sector move higher off of fundamentals and not adding more and more takeover premiums into stocks. That being said I […]

October 9 Biotech Update

I would say after yesterday that the sector looks a little better but I think more to the point it seems that volatility is the best word that describes the trading action. The biased bull in me sees this volatility as slowly healing the charts and putting in a bottom. The bear in me sees […]

September 11 Biotech Update

Macro seems to be slowly fading into the background but note that I said slowly as it will likely take more time and it should remain meaningful in the short term. Of course, fading into the background does not mean all is clear for the next move higher as I read the market as simply […]

June 3 Biotech Update

Yesterday was not a great day for the sector with reports of a large sell program in large caps and from what I saw that makes sense. None of the large caps really seemed to rally and every move higher was met with selling. SMID did a little better but we still likely need the […]

June 2 Biotech Update

ASCO is not quite over but my time in ASCO is over and now I am going to spend the next couple of days writing about what I think are both broad and more narrow company specific themes. Keep in mind that the sector usually sells off after ASCO but given the rising importance of […]