April 8, 2025 4:55pm

The tariff “noise” continues as the White House confirms the US is moving forward with 104% tariffs on China beginning at 12:01 AM E.T., with the cell and gene therapy sector bouncing back to bottoms  

These are worst of times as sector equity year-to-date performance remains bottom-based. The wall of worry emerges as valuations are deflated, economic-related gradations remain, tariff tensions are heightened, and so on.

Volatility is greater than the norm

I say today what others won't, so you can do what others can't!

Never leave an investor uninformed! 

 

On point, short on words, long on facts and being judicious!

My mission is to provide clear, actionable guidance on a regular basis to help investors and traders navigate the uncertain and often irrational financial markets. I put hours of effort to create reporting, while leveraging my 40 years of operating and research experiences to analyze the key market-moving events and distill that into a cogent outlook.

 

Tuesday’s RegMed Investors’ (RMi) pre-open: A windsock fills for direction … https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/13871

 

Monday night’s RegMed Investors (RMi) Closing Bell: swing low, not so sweet chariot … https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/13870

RegMed Investors (RMi) Research Note: Harvard Apparatus GT (OTCQB: HRGN), formerly Biostage (OTCQB: HRGN) The chokehold got tighter cutting-off any capacity to lift multiple going concern at-risk marker … https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/13812

 

Tuesday: The Dow closed DOWN -320.01 points or -0.84%, the S&P closed DOWN -79.48 points or -1.57% while the Nasdaq close DOWN -335.35 points or -2.15%

  • Gains eroded from earlier in the session
  • Tuesday marks a 4th session of forceful market volatility since the rollout of Trump’s tariffs

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

  • The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) the fear gauge spiked to 46.08 on Monday; Tuesday, it ended at 51.96
  • The small cap-focused Russell 2000 is down -3% from highs; and down more than 19% in 2025

Tuesday’s advance/decline line opened with a positive 31 incliner, 2 decliners and 2 flats ending with a negative close of 4 incliners, 30 decliners and 1 flat           

Metrics:  Tuesday, the IBB was down -4.19%, the XBI was down -3.19% while the VIX was up +4.71 points or +9.99% at 51.69

 

Q2/24 -April – 1 positive and 5 negative closes

  • Q1/25 – March, 10 positive and 12 negative closes
  • February – 12 holiday, 11 negative and 7 positive closes
  • January - 2 holidays, 1 market close, 10 negative and 10 positive closes

 

Tuesday’s Closing UP (4 of 4) +$ after Monday’s

  • Cellectis SA (CLLS +$0.058 after Monday’s -$0.01),
  • bluebird bio (BLUE +$0.05),
  • Caribou Biosciences (CRBU +$0.0326),
  • Compass Therapeutics (CMPX +$0.02 after Monday’s +$0.11),

Flat (2)

  • Harvard Apparatus RT (OTCQB: HRGN)
  • Homology Medicine (FIXX) 

Tuesday’s Closing DOWN (10 of 30):

  • Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY -$8.63 after Monday’s -$2.79),
  • Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS -$2.06 after Monday’s +$0.48),
  • Vericel (VCEL -$1.30 after Monday’s -$2.02),
  • BioLife Solutions (BLFS -$1.30 after Monday’s +$1.06 and acquisition)
  • Lenz Therapeutics (LENZ -$1.18 after Monday’s -$1.68),
  • CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP -$1.11 after Monday’s -$0.27),
  • Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals (RARE -$1.08 after Monday’s -$0.29),
  • Moderna (MRNA -$1.00 after Monday’s +$0.53)
  • Blueprint Medicine (BPMC-$0.98 after Monday’s -$1.488),
  • Beam Therapeutics (BEAM -$0.76 after Monday’s +$0.13)

 

As compared to… Monday: The Dow closed DOWN -349.26 points or -0.91%, the S&P closed DOWN -11.83 points or -0.23% while the Nasdaq close UP +15.48 points or +0.10%

  • U.S. stocks bounced between gains and losses in a volatile trading session Monday

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

  • Fears grew that the sell-off would feed on itself with hedge funds forced to sell down equities and other risky assets to raise cash needed meet margin calls. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) the fear gauge, surged to the 50 level today, an extreme level seen mostly only during bear markets.

Monday’s advance/decline line opened with a negative 1 incliner, 32 decliners and 2 flats ending with a negative close of 13 incliners, 20 decliners and 2 flats      

  • Don’t SELL as any rebound has yet to overcome obstacles but not the sense of hope as volatility continues to spike while markets lead the sector

Metrics:  Monday, the IBB was down -0.95%, the XBI was down -0.67% while the VIX was up 1.67 points or +3.69% at 46.08

 

 

The BOTTOM LINE:  Indexes sunk in trading on Tuesday …

3 straight days of elevated volatility of around 6% or more have only happened 3 other times in history: the 1987 market crash, 2008 financial crisis, and the lows of the pandemic. <Yahoo>

It's been one of the most chaotic stretches for US markets in recent memory.

  • The 10-year yield (^TNX) jumped 17 basis points to kick off the week, a massive 34 basis point swing from a low of 3.87% to a high of 4.21%. The yield extended those gains on Tuesday, climbing as much as 10 basis points to hover at around 4.25%.
  • The 30-year yield (^TYX) jumped another 12 basis points Tuesday after seeing its biggest move to the upside since March 2020. As of late afternoon, the 30-year yield traded at 4.72%

 

“I hate to be so negative or contrarian but, this is a NO spin zone and truth is its product; I can always be WRONG but, I am mostly EARLY!”

  • If I have learned one thing as a former research analyst in a venture and public fund, operating executive, x-FBI, x-military officer and an adjunct (MBA) business school professor now a journalist; my life and your portfolio are largely tied to knowledge of price movements and questioning pricing targets and more.

 

I don’t have much to write/say other than “electronic trading and uncle algo” ...

  • Love ‘em, or leave ‘em and the hopefully welcome back to save the sector’s honor – “uncle algo and his electronic dwarfs.” <me>

 

April ‘25: understand the “flow” …

  • 4/8 - Tuesday closed negative with 4 positive, 30 negative and 1 flat
  • 4/7 - Monday closed negative with 13 positive, 20 negative and 2 flats
  • 4/4 – Friday closed negative with 3 positive, 30 negative and 2 flats
  • 4/3 – Thursday closed negative with 2 positive, 32 negative and 1 flat
  • 4/2 - Wednesday closed positive with 9 positive, 25 negative and 1 flat
  • 4/1 - Tuesday closed negative with 5 positive, 28 negative and 2 flats

 

What could 2025 have in store for the capital access space?

  • "You'll see a number of cell and gene therapy companies drive for financings – they’re desperate for cash, but I do think a lot of cell and gene therapy sector companies NEED to be focused on what is driving their own growth —they're focused on a lot of change BUT … it has to happen in pipelines … capital expansion is second and be justified.

 

Why do I keep repeating, so investors can make the connection …

The top three (3) performing in the session:   

  • Tuesday: Cellectis SA (CLLS), Caribou Biosciences (CRBU) and bluebird bio (BLUE)
  • Monday: BioLife Solutions (BLFS), Moderna (MRNA) and Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS)
  • Friday: Fate Therapeutics (FATE), bluebird bio (BLUE) and Sangamo Therapeutics (SGMO)

The worst three (3) in the session: 

  • Tuesday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) and Blueprint Medicine (BPMC)
  • Monday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), Vericel (VCEL) and Lenz Therapeutics (LENZ)
  • Friday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), Blueprint Medicine (BPMC) and Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals (RARE)

 

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 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.