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 14 Biotech Update
A weak start to the day that essentially appears to be a continuation from the late selling yesterday. It still seems to be the case that large caps are underperforming the SMID, which has been the case for awhile. I suspect that is going to be a difficult trend to break but for the long […]
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 […]
December 12 Biotech Update
The market is weak to open as a follow through on the selling yesterday. This feels like a reversal day but it is way too early to tell but either way I think we are going to get a sense of how stocks are going to trade into the end of the year. A day […]
December 10 Biotech Update
It was a slightly negative open to the market but certainly more benign than yesterday where the market was able to come back. It may be the case that we are in a Europe driven pattern where there is selling pressure when the European markets are open but that drag is lifted once they close […]
December 8 Biotech Update
It has been a busy couple of days as expected and more news than can be adequately covered in one day, so today I will touch on what seems most interesting and/or near term actionable. Even then I will necessarily be leaving some important topics for later in the week so feel free to contact […]
November 21 Biotech Update
A great open for the market but then it immediately proceeded to lay an egg. It is still early and the key is going to be how it responds to the selling. The only worrying sign is that the downdraft really seemed to hit biotechs and these have been a leading indicator of larger market […]
November 20 Biotech Update
Market starts a little weak this morning and generally is taking the sector with it. That being said it is not a rout by any means, so it seems like there sector is looking to find its footing before the next move. Luckily we have some news to talk about. 1. EPZM reported very positive […]
November 17 Biotech Update
This morning was just a little bit busy. The market was neutral, which gives us a nice clean way to see how the biotechs are reacting to news. In general, it appears that good news is still moving stocks higher, although some of the moves were more muted than you would expect. In any case, […]
November 12 Biotech Update
A weaker start to the day today but I still see this as the market treading water as opposed to a new trend. I certainly would keep an eye on the action of the small caps as they have been an early warning signal and they too seem to be treading water with some winners […]
November 10 Biotech Update
News continues to roll in and the market is providing a relatively neutral backdrop, which gives us a good sense of what the price action means. In other words, the price action of biotech stocks after news seems to be a clear signal of market reaction and is not being cloudy by macro effects. This […]
November 7 Biotech Update
To say it has been a busy day is an understatement. Rather than try and cover everything that is happening, I would prefer to focus on a couple items a day. I would also note that the sector seems weakening which is probably an early signal for the broader market but it is difficult to […]
November 5 Biotech Update
The markets seem to be in consolidation mode or to put it another way it is trying to make up its mind about the next move. At this point I am 50/50 on the next move as it really seems to be in no man’s land. The longer we stay at these levels the better […]
October 27 Biotech Update
The market started a little weak this morning and while I am sure you can find a reason (Ebola, EU stress tests, end of POMO, etc), the market has had a nice run and simply needs to consolidate. This is not to say that we start the consolidation today but this is getting stretched in […]
October 24 Biotech Update
It was a neutral open for the market which is pretty positive given the selling related to the Ebola case in NYC. It is very positive to see the market shrug off the news as it now seems that the Ebola panic and fear is decreasing. I read that there are probably up to 8-10 […]
October 23 Bioech Update
The rebound is continuing with large caps continuing to lead but with good participation with the small caps, which is nice to see. It really is a little amazing to see how many V-shaped moves this market makes and how little memory it has day to day. In any case, I still think the path […]
MRK – A Falling Knife Or a Golden Opportunity
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) -NYSE Many speculation going around the huge drop in MRK’s share price in just one week, dropping from the $60.18 (closing on 10/08) to reach the low of $52.49 today, but bouncing back sharply to trade around the support line $53.44. Some speculation of De-risking as we get closer to […]
October 16 Biotech Update
The market continues its weakness but I am certainly encouraged that small caps are out performing. They were an early signal on the way down and so are potentially an early signal on the way back up. Of course, it could just be funds who were short are raising cash but I am not convinced […]
[Free Report] JNJ Aquires Alios: What This Means For Achillion
Johnson & Johnson announced today it will acquire privately held Alios BioPharma for $1.75 Billion in cash, gaining rights to the mid-stage treatment for infants with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), AL-8176, and early stage nuc AL-335 for HCV. “We are excited that this acquisition will enable us to explore treatment options for a number of […]
Recent Option Activity (9/10 ~ 9/11)
The following stocks had recent and notable activity in their options: $MRK (9/10): 12,800 JAN15 50.0 strike Calls were sold (stock at $60.56) for 10.70 or total proceeds of $13.7 million. This trade is likely part of a larger “dividend capture” strategy (see: http://www.businessinsider.com/options-dividend-trade-strategy-2012-9) and should be viewed as neutral (not bearish or bullish). $SNSS […]
