Week’s Option Activity (5/13~5/17)

The following stocks had notable activity in their options during the past week: $OPTR (5/13): 2,250 SEP 17.50 strike Calls were sold against equal number of purchased JUN 12.5 Puts (stock @ $12.81) for total debit of 0.85 or $191,250. Trade most likely a hedge of an existing long stock position. $MNTA (5/13): 926 JAN14 […]

Week’s Option Activity (5/6~5/10)

The following stocks had notable activity in their options during the past week: $HOLX (5/7/13): 3,900 DEC 22.0/18.0 strike Strangles were purchased for a net debit of 2.05 or a total cost of $799,500. DEC 22.0 Calls were bought for 1.00 and DEC 18.0 strike Puts were bought for 1.05 (stock at $20.66). Buyer makes […]

ASCO2013 Take Three: PD1 antibodies will have significant presence

This is our third piece in a series of articles on developments expected at ASCO 2013[1,2]. Currently, we think the majority of the exciting presentations at ASCO 2013 will be from clinical candidates at big pharma. In particular, anti-programmed death-1 monoclonal antibodies(anti-PD-1) like Bristol Myers’ Nivolumab(BMS-936558), Merck’s Lambrolizumab (MK-3475), GSK’s AMP-224, Teva/CureTech’s CT-011 and Roche/Genentech’s […]

ASCO2013 Take Two: Battleground Hematology

As we said in our initial article on ASCO 2013[link], Gilead will have a significant presence at this year’s meeting. In the May 15th press program for ASCO, they will be featuring Idelalisib(GS-1101), Gilead’s delta-specific PI3K inhibitor. Novel oral agents with dramatic efficacy and limited toxicity have made the hematology space highly competitive. Abstracts can […]

Preview of ASCO2013 Take One

With the 2013 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) rapidly approaching, we want to take the time to present our highlights of the meeting. This is one of the largest medical meetings investors focus upon in the biotech and healthcare sectors. Before we get into this, we do have some overarching […]

Option Basics (4): Expiration and Other Basics

Option Expiration It is important to quickly discuss the finer points of Option Expiration. Options expire on the Saturday immediately following the 3rd Friday of the expiration month. This sounds confusing but it is not – if you look at a calendar, it is quite simple. The September 2010 Series expire on Saturday September 18, […]

Week’s Option Activity (5/1~5/3)

The following stocks had notable activity in their options during the past week: $ASTX (5/1/13): 2,000 OCT 6/9 strike Call spreads (stock @ $6.88) were purchased for a net debit of 0.80 or total cost of $160,000. Buyer makes money if stock is greater than $6.80 by expiration. $NBIX (5/2/13): 1,874 JUN/AUG (long – front […]

Highlights from Day 2 at Needham

Today marked the end of the 12th Annual Needham Healthcare Conference. Below is a collection of slides from companies that we are following or have an interest in. These include Chelsea Therapeutics (CHTP), Curis (CRIS), Cytokinetics (CYTK), Intercept (ICPT), Omeros (OMER), Sangamo (SGMO), TG Therapeutics (TGTX) and several others. (See our slideshow from Day 1 […]

Some highlights from Day 1 at Needham

The 12th Annual Needham Healthcare Conference began today with a number of presentations by widely biotech companies. Below we have a slideshow of the summary slides from companies that we are following or have an interest in. These include Astex (ASTX), Cubist (CBST), Infinity (INFI), Insmed (INSM), ISIS (ISIS), Sarepta (SRPT) and several others.

Busy week ahead for Biotech

This week is going to be particularly heavy on the earnings updates and FDA actions. Below are some of our views on potential updates and major events at biopharmaceutical companies this week. Additionally, the 12th Annual Needham Healthcare Conference takes place this week from 4/30-5/1. Monday, April 29th Main story for Dynavax will be the potential […]

Upcoming FDA approval decisions

The end of April will be marked by 2 FDA decisions. On Tuesday, April 30th, Raptor Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: RPTP) will receive the FDA’s decision on PROCYSBI (RP103, Cysteamine Bitartrate Delayed-Release Capsules) for treating nephropathic cystinosis. The original PDUFA date of 1/30/13 was delayed 3-months following additional data submitted by Raptor. It is a novel reformulation […]

Upcoming earnings and conferences this week

With the first quarter behind us, we look to updates across the biotech industry on new product launches and guidance for the year. We are also coming upon the summer medical conference series. Additionally, we briefly discuss 2 upcoming FDA approvals. Upcoming earnings releases and updates Monday, April 22nd After-Hours: ILMN Tuesday, April 23rd Pre-Market: […]