May 30, 2024 4:54pm

As Uncle algo and his electronic trading dwarfs” watered the distressed “flowers”

Anyone who reads my posts, knows that I am about making money in a portfolio, no matter what happens in the sector

Never leave an investor uninformed!

I answer or qualify the sector’s equity’s share pricing mobility; with an emphasis on which company is gaining or losing stride in your portfolio for the short and near-term

It’s not hard to be right so often, it’s about refining expectation, defining insight and NOT being indentured to ANY financial institution!

 

Thursday: The Dow closed DOWN -330.06 points or -0.86%, the S&P closed DOWN -31.47 points or -0.60% while the Nasdaq closed DOWN -183.50 points or -1.08%

 

Henry’omics:

We need to more than consider the economic environment - rising rates and inflation to comprehend the micro re “our” universe of cell and gene therapy companies …

Indexes slipped to session lows on Thursday …  these “wilts” drooped given some companies’ “weight” in the market, masking strength elsewhere.

Economic Data Docket: the US economy grew at a slower pace than initially thought during the first quarter. The Bureau of Economic Analysis's second estimate of Q1 US gross domestic product (GDP) showed the economy grew at an annualized pace of 1.3% during the period, down from a first reading of 1.6% growth in April.

  • Personal consumption in Q1 grew at 2%, down from a prior reading of 2.5%.
  • The reading came in significantly lower than Q4/23 GDP, which was revised up to 3.4%.

 

All-time Low:

  • Caribou Biosciences (CRBU) at $2.85

 

Advance/Decline (A/D) Line:

  • Thursday’s advance/decline line at the open was positive with 20 incliner, 12 decliners and 3 flats; ending with a positive close of 22 incliners, 10 decliners and 3 flats

 

Ebb and flow of MY covered sector cell and gene therapy session daily “endings”:

Q2/24: 1 holiday, 10 positive and 11 negative closes

  • April; 16 negative and 6 positive closes

 

Key Metrics:

The iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology (IBB) and the SPDR S&P ETF (XBI) indicators:

  • Thursday, the IBB was up +0.63% and the XBI was up +1.69%

The CBOE Volatility Index (VVIX: INDEX) tracked:

  • Thursday was up +0.19 point or +1.33% at 14.47

 

Thursday’s Closing Down (10 of 10):

  • Mesoblast (MESO -$0.47),
  • Adverum Biotechnologies (ADVM -$0.21 after Wednesday’s +$0.36 after Tuesday’s +$0.06),
  • Compass Therapeutics (CMPX -$0.11),
  • Prime Medicine (PRME -$0.04 after Wednesday’s +$0.04 after Tuesday’s -$0.43),
  • Caribou Biosciences (CRBU -$0.03),
  • MiMedx (MDXG -$0.03),
  • Sangamo Therapeutics (SGMO -$0.029),
  • Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics (BCLI -$0.014 after Wednesday’s +$0.0121),
  • Cellectis SA (CLLS -$0.007),
  • bluebird bio (BLUE -$0.0058),

Flat (3):

  • Bellicum Pharmaceuticals (BLCM) – dropped)
  • Harvard Apparatus RT (OTCQB: HRGN)
  • Homology Medicine (FIXX) – under $1.00

Thursday’s Closing Up (10 of 22):

  • Blueprint Medicine (BPMC +$5.79 after Wednesday’s -$1.79 after Tuesday’s -$0.45),
  • Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY +$3.10 after Wednesday’s -$3.13 after Tuesday’s +$2.30),
  • Vericel (VCEL +$1.44 after Wednesday’s -$1.23 after Tuesday’s -$0.26),
  • Sage Therapeutics (SAGE +$0.64 after Wednesday’s -$1.07 after Tuesday’s +$0.15),
  • Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals (RARE +$0.51 after Wednesday’s -$1.20 after Tuesday’s -$1.00),
  • Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA +$0.43 after Wednesday’s -$1.05 after Tuesday’s -$2.12),
  • Beam Therapeutics (BEAM +$0.41 after Wednesday’s -$0.54),
  • Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR +$0.32),
  • AxoGen (AXGN +$0.29 after Wednesday’s +$0.07 after Tuesday’s +$0.37),
  • Regenxbio (RGNX +$0.24 after Wednesday’s -$0.85 after Tuesday’s +$0.04),

 

Q2/24 – May

  • Thursday closed positive with 22 incliners, 10 decliners and 3 flats
  • Wednesday closed negative with 5 incliners, 27 decliners and 3 flats
  • Tuesday closed negative with 15 incliners, 16 decliners and 4 flats
  • (5/27) Monday was a market holiday

 

The BOTTOM LINE:  The cell and gene therapy sector was boosted by initiatives in buying bottom - by "uncle algo and his electronic trading dwarfs"?

As I wrote this a.m., “almost time to clean-up share pricing debris with another weak aftermarket as June looms, pick through and maybe some bottoms?”

  • For the month so far, the Nasdaq is up +7%, the S&P +4% while the DOW +0.08%.
  • While investors are returning to the Treasury bond market. The yield on the benchmark 10-year bond fell 5 basis points to 4.56% after rising more than 15 basis points in the prior two days.
  • The small cap Russell 2000 is 1% on Thursday, making this one of the brief times smaller stocks have outperformed large caps during this bull market

 

Investors should expect continued choppiness in the market as questions swirl around the health of consumer spending and path of interest rates. He likened recent market action to a wave coming in before going back out. We still have some good excitement that’s been built up in the market — a lot of this is momentum investing.”

  • “But momentum investing works until it doesn’t.” <Clark Bellin, chief investment officer at Bellwether Wealth>

 

The top three (3) performing in the session:  

  • Thursday: Blueprint Medicine (BLMC), Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY) and Vericel (VCEL)
  • Wednesday: Adverum Biotechnologies (ADVM), Lenz Therapeutics (LENZ) and AxoGen (AXGN)
  • Tuesday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), Agenus (AGEN) and BioLife Solutions (BLFS)
  • Monday:  was a holiday

The worst three (3) in the session:

  • Thursday: Mesoblast (MESO), Adverum Biotechnologies (ADVM) and Compass Therapeutics (CMPX)
  • Wednesday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), Blueprint Medicine (BLMC) and Vericel (VCEL)
  • Tuesday: Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA), Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals (RARE) and Blueprint Medicine (BLMC)
  • Monday: was a market holiday

 

Welcome to my world of defining the “grey’ in our universe!

  • Right up front, “I also hate to be so negative or contrarian but, this is a NO spin zone and facts are its product; I can always be WRONG but … I am mostly EARLY!”

 

Opinions expressed are those of the author and are subject to change, and not intended to be a forecast of future events, a guarantee of future results, nor investment advice. Whether information or intelligence is good, bad, or somewhere in between; I put into context what is relevant and useful for investors.  All investments are subject to risks. Investors should consider investment objectives.

Henry McCusker, the editor, and publisher of RegMed Investors does not hold or have positions in securities referred to in this publication. Regulation Analyst Certification (Reg AC): The research analyst primarily responsible for the content of this report certifies the following under Reg AC: I hereby certify that all views expressed in this report accurately reflect my personal views about the subject company or companies and its or their securities.

I also certify that no part of my compensation was, is or will be, directly or indirectly, related to the specific recommendations or views expressed in this report.