May 9 Biotech Update

Macro seems to once again dominate the trading with both Iran and China increasing the risk and both North Korea and Venezuela just below the surface. The odds remain that we muddle through these crises but one cannot ignore the risks that these present especially because the Iran and China situations could potentially be very […]

May 1 Biotech Update

The sector continues to lag. What I see as a little odd is that pharma appears to be outperforming biotech. If Medicare for All was going to collapse the US drug market, why would pharma be immune and be doing well? It is an odd disconnect and speaks to something else going on in the […]

March 26 Biotech Update

The sector has had a nice sharp pullback that has challenged sentiment a little. I was a little surprised about how quickly sentiment got negative yesterday as we have had a pretty solid move higher. It seems that sentiment is a little more fragile under the surface than I thought. In some ways that is […]

March 21 Biotech Update

This will certainly be a bad day for the large cap but I would not be surprised to see the XBI outperform if not eventually turn green as M&A fever hits the space. The BIIB failure is large and important for a number of reasons, which I will go through today. 1. While many did […]

February 27 Biotech Update

We still have not gapped and went, so I would think that possibility is lowering but I would not completely discount it. We have some positive news today in the SMID space that could trigger another round of buying but time is running out for the go part of the gap and go. 1. SRPT […]

February 21 Biotech Update

Resistance is acting like resistance. It looked early that we might be peaking above it but clearly that is not the case. These sort of false breakouts (and breakdowns) are killers in range bound markets as it can get one to trade too early. My mantra in these scenarios is that the sector will be […]

February 7 Biotech Update

We start off a little weak this morning, which is not completely unexpected given that we are at the top end of the recent range. Obviously it would be nice to see a breakout above the range to start another leg higher but range bound trading after the recent run is not bad at this […]

January 8 Biotech Update

The sector is ripping higher the past couple days, which makes sense given the news flow. I thought the XBI could hit $80 and it did. This is an area of some resistance and the question is whether or not this momentum could actually carry it to the $85 area. Over the near term I […]

December 11 Biotech Update

The market did a lot better to start the week than I would have thought and that strength continues today. At this point, I think everyone does not really trust the market (I fall in that camp) but does that mean then that the sellers on this pop get burned? Everyone expects the move higher […]

December 7 Biotech Update

The market can always surprise and I was surprised yesterday with the sector strength. The broader market did better than I expected but the sector clearly outperformed. It is only a day but if we see continued strength today then one has to read these days as a strong signal in the near term. I […]

November 8 Biotech Update

Not a lot going on but there are a couple of quick points I want to make today. 1. AKAO is having the completely predictable slow antibiotic launch. You will never see these launch like anti-virals or oncology drugs. Simply being approved does not mean they will be used as hospitals have to review it […]

October 25 Biotech Update

Yesterday was brutal and there is really little to say about it as we are clearly in the middle of a massive correction if not outright bear market. I suspect that we are closer to the end than the beginning but that does not mean we could not see another 10% lower from these levels […]

October 15 Biotech Update

Tell me if you heard this story before. Merger Monday and nothing happens in biotech. We have essentially run out of excuses as it was the political uncertainty and then it was tax reform. Neither are issues at the moment and we still have nothing happening. Are valuations in public companies still too high? Have […]

October 10 Biotech Update

I do not think there is much to say today outside of the obvious. The market is not looking good and we seem to be entering (or in the midst) of a broad market correction that is going to take everything down with it. Fundamentals are not going to matter in the near term. It […]

October 5 Biotech Update

Yesterday was brutal to say the least. There really was nothing to like about it. The XBI seems to have broken below its range and the IBB is rushing to the bottom end of its range. I have been talking about the XBI as the early warning index for the IBB and unless it can […]

SRPT – Again, WMS-2018 Dystrophin Data Beating the Market Expectation

Yesterday 10/04, at 7:00 am ET, Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT) with Dr. Mendell released the biopsy data from the fourth patient including full 4 patients “Functional Data” from Argentina at #WMS2018 the 23rd International Annual World Muscle Society meeting Link to the full slide deck: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/873303/000119312518292068/d616670dex992.htm The after-hours share price reaction was wild swing, spiking up […]

SRPT – Preparing for WMS-2018 Presentation

Tomorrow 10/04, at 7:00 am ET, Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT) with Dr. Mendell are hosting a conference call from Argentina at #WMS2018 the 23rd International Annual World Muscle Society meeting, to present and discuss new data from the micro-dystrophin gene-therapy study Ph1/2. Link to SRPT webcast page: http://investorrelations.sarepta.com/events-and-presentations Back in June 19th at the R&D day SRPT […]

September 24 Biotech Update

An interesting start to the week, although we still like real M&A or business development. Unlike previous weeks, however, there is actually some interesting news to discuss. The sector is green and outperforming the broader market but the move seems pretty isolated so ideally this green will broaden as the day continues. 1. The big […]