May 26 Biotech Update

What a bad start to the week and by bad I mean slow. The only sound we heard this morning was crickets. Nothing to move the sector in terms of data and nothing on the M&A front (perhaps this is the calm before an ASCO storm). Given the dearth of news and a negative broader […]

May 22 Biotech Update

Yesterday sort of followed the potential new pattern of gaining strength throughout the day but volumes were a little low as we approach the holiday weekend. I suspect today will be even worse, so I will refrain from making any real interpretations of the moves given the lack of volume. 1. There is a lot […]

May 21 Biotech Update

It is a similar start to the trading day with the market sort of flat with the sector a little lower (with notable exceptions which will be discussed below). It was encouraging yesterday that the sector got stronger throughout the day. We were stuck in a pattern with gap higher in the morning and then […]

May 20 Biotech Update

The market was off to a benign start but the sector seemed to take it on the chin (albeit on generally light volume). I am not sure why the selling to start the day as we generally seemed to have some positive news after the bell last night. I do not think it will accelerate […]

May 19 Biotech Update

A mixed start to the morning with some red and green. It seems to me that the market generally wants to move higher but no one seems to have high conviction with that move. I am like everyone else looking for the next shoe to drop and not really trusting the rally. That very well […]

May 18th Biotech Update

The sector seems to be treading water this morning if not slightly outperforming the broader market. There seems to be a tug of war of wanting to be positioned into the potential run ups into ASCO (and EHA) and potential deal flow but the fear of being the last one holding when the sector corrects. […]

May 8 Biotech Update

I wish I had more time to write this week but it has been too busy. The sector is obviously doing well and perhaps we have bottomed but at the very least we are set for a relief rally. Perhaps if we can get some additional M&A Monday it will spark a nice rally into […]

May 6 Biotech Update

Well, we finally get another deal and it is pretty telling how the sector reacted. Obviously there is a tailwind but it is not universal and we need to see how it plays out today. There is a tug of war going on in the market and sector and it is amazing that the same […]

May 5 Biotech Update

So clearly the strength later in the day did not play out yesterday and it ended up being yet another day with a strong open and a move that was faded all day. This selling carried over into this morning but perhaps this move will be faded as well. The sector (and market) are stuck […]

May 4 Biotech Update

It is a decent start to the day with a positive open. The longer that we do not pullback the more pressure it will place on those who were short or in cash at the end of last week. My hunch is that a lot of investors were shaken out earlier in the week and […]

May 1 Biotech Update

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday nobody wanted to buy a biotech and there was nothing that could ever happen that could reverse the selling. A giant GILD beat was expected and would only lead to more selling. A funny thing happened along the way to the proverbial park. Obviously the selling has been […]

April 29 Biotech Update

This has to be a quick note as this morning is busy but clearly the market is teetering. The bounce this morning is nice but we need a lot more than a bounce to really make a believer out of investors. The silver lining is that the volume on those down days was very high, […]

The Week Ahead in Earnings

A second busy week of earnings is due out in the space this week. We will see 3 of the 4 remaining large caps report (Gilead, Celgene, Vertex) and a smattering of big pharma reports as well. Given the sell off today, earnings reports could stem the fall, or exacerbate it further with poor results. […]

April 24 Biotech Update

Some news to talk about today with interesting implications and I will try to cover most of them. The sector seems to be lagging early despite some business development news but we also had a big miss by BIIB that might be acting as a headwind (the M&A rumor seem to save the day so […]

April 13 Biotech Update

Happy merger Monday- well, happy Monday at least. The sector is off to a good start this week despite another dearth of deals this morning. It does worry me a little that the current expectation is that we will see mergers every Monday as the sector should ideally move on fundamentals and not quick merger […]

April 10 Biotech Update

A good opening to the sector and large caps but the move was almost immediately faded (especially the large caps). Yesterday ended better than the past, so perhaps the sector can recover and regain the lost ground but I still worry about this pattern of strong openings that are continually sold throughout the day. It […]

April 9th Biotech Update

The market is choppy this morning so it is difficult to read anything into the price action. I am growing slightly more constructive on the near term of the sector but that is a very low conviction view. While the sector bounced on support, I have a hard time believing that the sell off was […]

April 8 Biotech Update

It was actually a good morning for the sector with large and SMID caps doing well. While that is a good first step, we need these moves to not only stick but strengthen at the end of the day. Another fade would indicate that the selling pressure remains a headwind. The sector is in an […]

April 6 Biotech Update

I have not had a chance to follow the market last week, so I do not really have a sense how the sector is doing. It looks like it has been more of the same with weakness and large caps trudging along and unable to generate any real leadership. The sector is certainly lagging the […]