March 17, 2025 7:37am

The recent pullback is a barometer for how the cell and gene therapy sector bounces

More volatile markets, more earnings LPS (loss-per-share), EPS misses, more negative economic surprises; and yet there will be more share pricing ascensions

Pre-open Indications: play it through

No false narratives or fake news; to read insights and analysis on the latest sector action, check out Pre-Open Brief …

Never leave an investor uninform

Remember that overnight and pre-open actions’ futures and markets doesn’t necessarily translate into actual trading in today’s market session.

My interpretation of the morning’s numbers is written to be informative; it’s built on what happened to make “it” happen today!

 

Friday’s night’s … RegMed Investors (RMi) Closing Bell: adjusting noise suppression…https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/13841

 

Monday; The pre-open Dow futures are DOWN -0.28% or (-119 points), the S&P futures are DOWN -0.6% or (-9 points) and the Nasdaq futures are DOWN -0.04% or (-7 points)

  • Stock futures pointed to a negative open on Monday, 3/17,
  • European stocks were positive,
  • Asia-Pacific markets mostly positive.

 

Henry’omics: We need to more than consider the economic environment to comprehend the micro re “our” universe of cell and gene therapy companies

Another brutal week for equities, last week, the Nasdaq sank deeper into correction territory, while the small-cap Russell 2000 neared a bear market, or 20% off from its high. The S&P 500 briefly dipped into a correction as well, before snapping back above that level.

  • Friday: The Dow closed UP +674.62 points or +1.66%, the S&P closed UP +117.42 points or +2.13% while the Nasdaq closed UP +451.08 points or +2.61%
  • After, Thursday: The Dow closed DOWN -562.22 points or -1.36%, the S&P closed DOWN -81.27 points or -1.50% while the Nasdaq closed DOWN -358.64 points or -2.03%

Economic Data Docket February retail sales, Empire State Manufacturing Survey, Business Inventories, and Home Builder Confidence Index

  • Economists polled by Dow Jones expect retail sales to have increased 0.6% in February.
  • The central bank is largely expected to hold interest rates steady when it announces its next monetary policy decision on Wednesday.

 

Q1/25:  March sessions with 5 positive and 6 negative closes

  • February – 1 holiday, 11 negative and 8 positive closes
  • January – 2 holidays, 1 market close, 10 negative and 10 positive closes

Q4/24:

  • December 1 holiday, 15 negative and 5 positive closes
  • November 10 negative and 9 positive closes
  • October: 8 positive and 15 negative closes

 

Companies in my headlights – It’s your decision; I provide ideas and context

I post about “indication intelligence” looking toward investment conferences … to assist investors with insight into sector vulnerabilities and strengths.

A dictionary definition of “indicate” refers to something less than a certainty; an indication could be a signal of being oversold or overbought, a recommendation, or grounds for inferring or a basis for believing.

  • Better part of valor to not lead any investor to temptation; yet again, I am passing on forecasting the daily indications as to expectation while the aftermarket blanked while the pre-open waits for the …  econs, it is still a mix of ups, downs and just uncertainty.

 

The BOTTOM LINE: Another week, the 3rd of March

  • As I have written, “uncle algo and his trading dwarfs” will determine the heights or lows of share pricing”

March to date:

  • 3/14 – Friday closed positive with 20 positive, 13 negative and 2 flats
  • 3/13 - Thursday closed negative with 4 positive, 30 negative and 1 flat
  • 3/12 – Wednesday closed positive with 25 positive, 9 negative and1 flat
  • 3/11 - Tuesday closed positive with 23 positive, 11 negative and 1 flat
  • 3/10 – Monday closed negative with 3 positive, 31 negative and 1 flat
  • 3/7 – Friday closed negative with 14 positive, 17 negative and 4 flats
  • 3/6 – Thursday closed negative with 16 positive, 18 negative and 1 flat
  • 3/5 – Wednesday closed positive with 25 positive, 9 negative and 1 flat
  • 3/4 – Tuesday closed negative with 15 positive, 18 negative and 2 flats
  • 3/3 – Monday closed negative with 2 positive, 31 negative and 2 flats

Reiterating, “I think it's important just to take a step back, focus on the fundamentals, be selective. I mean, this has definitely been a “sucky” January and February from a stock-picker standpoint given the up/downs. And so, I am relatively neutral across today/Friday’s equity strategy.

  • Reiterating, “Take the emotion out of the sector, think of the reality of the “plays” that exist of who’s really buying.”

It’s STILL earnings season “sparking” a quarterly life crisis…

  • Cell and Gene therapy earnings continue to be important; LPS (loss per share), revenue uplifts and lags, clinical progress with some program uncertainty, a dearth all followed by estimate misses
  • The coming batch of quarterly earnings will provide last years, FY2024’s LPS (loss-per-share), some EPS, consensus meets and non-greets, cash positions, runways and partner status for investors

Earnings are here … from Q4/24 and FY24 … my view will follow, has been busy and personally eventful!

  • Sangamo Therapeutics (SGMO), Monday, 3/17

 

Think about it; one of the biggest problems with the cell and gene therapy sector’s share pricing is …  99% of them have no earnings! If rates are higher for longer, that means that sector companies will continue to struggle or be unable to raise capital and therefore be subject.

 

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

  • The sector is what it is, until it isn’t and even then, it doesn’t seem to be… as NOT much changes as the sector’s share pricing rides the waves of volatility, algorithms, electronic trading and short covering.
  • I am more frequently right than consequentially wrong; if I wanted to be liked, I wouldn’t have been an analyst/journalist.

 

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. All investments are subject to risks. Investors should consider investment objectives.

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.  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 it’s 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.

Henry McCusker, the editor and publisher of RegMed Investors could hold or have positions securities referred to in this publication and he will NOTIFY investors of holdings.