April 29, 2025 4:39pm

Econs cool the cell and gene therapy sector

As consumer confidence declined for April, job openings slid in March while the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index rose +0.3%

Sector equities swung between positive and negative territory on Tuesday as investors waited for the 1st of its LPS (loss-per-share) earnings release tomorrow 

Q1/25 earnings beginning to be posted: MDXG 4/30, ALNY 5/1, AXGN 5/8 and VCEL 5/18

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.

 

Monday night’s RegMed Investors (RMi) Closing Bell: musical equity chairs, the music stopped and there were less seats in the green zone … https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/13897

 

RegMed Investors (RMi) Research Note: Harvard Apparatus GT (OTCQB: HRGN) Chronicles: Yet another "screw job" for/on investors ... "wanting to effect a reverse split of its outstanding common stock" in its recent proxy statement filing!! … https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/13812

 

Tuesday: The Dow closed UP +300.03 points or +0.75%, the S&P closed UP +32.04 points or +0.58% while the Nasdaq closed UP +95.18 points or +0.55%

  • Indexes rose on Tuesday, hitting its highs of the day as the White House said a major trade deal was close to being announced

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

  • March Jolts from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed 7.19 M jobs open at the end of March, a decrease from the 7.48 M seen in February. Job openings in March hit their lowest level since September 2024 and were near levels not seen since December 2020. The February figure was revised lower from the 7.57 M open jobs initially reported. Economists had expected report to show 7.5 M openings in March.
  • Consumer confidence fell for the fifth straight month in April, the Conference Board's Index for April came in at a reading of 86, a significant drop from March's revised 92.9 reading and short of the 88-reading expected
  • The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index rose 0.3% over the prior month in February on a seasonally adjusted basis, easing from the 0.5% monthly gain recorded in January. On an annual basis, prices nationally increased 3.9%, less than the 4.1% seen in January. Mortgage rates continue to hover around 6.8% as market volatility persists amid tariff-related news.

Tuesday’s advance/decline line opened with a negative 7 incliner, 27 decline and 1 flat ending with a negative close of 14 incliners, 20 decliners and 1 flat    

Metrics:  Tuesday, the IBB was up +0.10%, the XBI was up +0.63% while the VIX was down -0.98 points or -3.90% at 24.17

 

Q2/24 -April – 10 positive and 10 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 (10 of 14) 

  • Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY +$2.34 after Monday’s +$3.29
  • Vericel (VCEL +$0.62 after Monday’s -$0.99
  • Mesoblast (MESO +$0.49 after Monday’s -$0.40),
  • Moderna (MRNA +$0.36 after Monday’s +$0.24),
  • Adverum Biotechnologies (ADVM +$0.35 ),
  • AxoGen (AXGN +$0.33 after Monday’s +$0.22
  • Regenxbio (RGNX +$0.28),
  • BioLife Solutions (BLFS +$0.24 after Monday’s -$0.49),
  • Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals (RARE +$0.09 after Monday’s -$0.11),
  • MiMedx (MDXG +$0.09 after Monday’s -$0.08),

Flat (2)

  • Homology Medicine (FIXX)

Tuesday’s Closing DOWN (10 of 20): 

  • Lenz Therapeutics (LENZ -$0.65 after Monday’s +$0.40
  • CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP -$0.48 after Monday’s -$0.39
  • Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA -$0.28 after Monday’s +$0.17),
  • Verve Therapeutics (VERV -$0.27),
  • Solid Biosciences (SLDB -$0.18 after Monday’s -$0.07),
  • Sage Therapeutics (SAGE -$0.17),
  • uniQure NV (QURE -$0.11),
  • Harvard Apparatus RT (OTCQB: HRGN -$0.11 after Monday’s $0.00)
  • Agenus (AGEN -$0.09 after Monday’s +$0.44),
  • Beam Therapeutics (BEAM -$0.09 after Monday’s +$0.28),

 

The BOTTOM LINE:  Cell and gene therapy sector equities turned lower AGAIN on Tuesday following Monday after Friday’s negative coming close to the end of month’s week and beginning of earnings reports and more macroeconomic data …

 …. that will continue to paint an early picture of the US economy's response to President Trump's tariffs.

  • Broader economic news will flavor the coming days, as investors eye Wednesday's release of the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumer Expenditures (PCE) index, to see the impact of tariffs on the general public's "core" expenses.
  • An initial reading on Q1/25 US GDP is also due Wednesday.
  • The April jobs report is also in sight, as the labor market has so far remained resistant to signs of economic slowdown. 

A quote for consideration, “In the recent past, waning investor interest has been a key headwind. But President Trump is injecting a new level of uncertainty for investors, making the broader health sector, including both smaller and large-cap healthcare stocks, less appealing.” <Yahoo Finance>

I was once told by a “very” prominent figure early in my career, “write it right, keep it tight without hype and never lose the stride to guide the reader – him” – they were pretty simple instructions to follow!

Reiterating … My message, re the FDA ... “The Trump administration … realizes drugs need to be made in America, not in foreign companies to be imported.

My perspective is retail investors should NOT be dipping their toes back into the cell and gene therapy sector until after LPS (loss-per-share) earnings report.

  • NO all ins – if adding ---  those with solid partners, lengthened runways and solid cash positions leveraged by solid management teams – thus I see losses going forward!

 

“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” slips in and out, back doors reaping sector disharmony and then pops right back for some profiteering.

  • What can I say, love ‘em, leave ‘em and welcome back to save the sector’s honor – “uncle algo and his electronic dwarfs.” <me>

 

April ‘25: understand the “flow” …

  • 4/29 – Tuesday closed negative with 14 positive, 20 negative and 1 flat
  • 4/28 - Monday closed negative with 15 positive, 19 negative and 2 flats
  • 4/25 – Friday closed negative with 12 positive, 20 negative and 3 flats
  • 4/24 – Thursday closed positive with 29 positive, 5 negative and 1 flat
  • 4/23 – Wednesday closed positive with 22 positive, 10 negative and 3 flats
  • 4/22 – Tuesday closed positive with 30 positive, 3 negative and 2 flats
  • 4/21 - Monday closed positive with 21 positive, 13 negative and 1 flat
  • 4/18 – Friday, markets closed for Good Friday
  • 4/17 – Thursday closed positive with 25 positive, 7 negative and 3 flats
  • 4/16 – Wednesday closed negative with 2 positive, 31 negative and 2 flats
  • 4/15 – Tuesday closed barely positive with 17 positive, 16 negative and 2 flats
  • 4/14 - Monday closed positive with 23 positive, 7 negative and 5 flats
  • 4/11 – Friday closed positive with 28 positive, 5 negative and 2 flats
  • 4/10 – Thursday closed negative with 4 positive, 30 negative and 1 flat
  • 4/9 – Wednesday closed positive with 33 positive, 1 negative and 1 flat
  • 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 DESPARITE 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 … that's happening in pipelines … capital expansion is second.

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

The top three (3) performing in the session:   

  • Tuesday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), Vericel (VCEL) and Mesoblast (MESO)
  • Monday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), Blueprint Medicine (BPMC) and Agenus (AGEN)
  • Friday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), Blueprint Medicine (BPMC) and Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals (RARE)

The worst three (3) in the session: 

  • Tuesday: Lenz Therapeutics (LENZ), CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) and Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA)
  • Monday: Vericel (VCEL), BioLife Solutions (BLFS) and Mesoblast (MESO)
  • Friday: Lenz Therapeutics (LENZ), Vericel (VCEL) and CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP)

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.