August 10, 2018 6:29pm

Yet the sector did turn defensive even with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals’ (ALNY) shares jumping on a “first-of-its kind' treatment”

 

Pre-open indications:  4 hit and 2 miss

Out and about: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY) shares jumped +$3.12 or +3.31% to $97.37 before being … halted in Friday trade before news that its rare disease drug Onpattro was approved by the FDFA, marking the first approval of a therapy that employs the RNA interference (RNAi) gene-silencing technique and

 

What’s going on with some analyst recommendations?  I-Bank research has been a motivation to buy a stock and once in a blue moon, when to sell.

RMi’s independent analysis is NOT “married” to any equity; like it or not - a trusted source of factual reporting. A BUY or a SELL can change in hours in our research notes!

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Henry’omics:

It’s been a good week – 4 positive and 1 negative closes even with all the earning’s releases – sentiment and momentum have been the “force”.

Some new highs are “running” into resistance which is a common happening, and technical traders will note that many of these highs are subject to deflation as the summer drags on!

But it’s important to remember that “our” universe is indeed a basket of stocks that exhibit a range of clinical trials P1 through P3 with few recent approvals!

As a contrarian, I am always looking for weakness; just review the listing of the month of August so far and “The weekly count” and the daily posts - it's coming!

 

Daily analytics and metrics:

  • The Dow dropped 196.09 points to 25,313.14 erasing its gains for the month of August while posting a three-day losing streak;
  • The S&P 500 fell 0.7% to close at 2,833.28;
  • The NASDAQ pulled back 0.7% or -52.67 points to 7,839.11 which snapped an eight (8) day winning streak.

 

Of the 45 companies covered on Friday; 19 downside equities finished in a range of -$0.05 (STML) to -$0.95 (AXGN) while the 24 upside equities oscillated from +$0.01 (BLCM) to $3.12 (ALNY) with 2 flat close (MESO and PSTI).

 

From the pre-open newsletter: “back on the edge; one good thing about Friday, no earnings.”

 

Out and about: ALNY continued …

Onpattro, also called patisiran, is intended for the rare and progressive disease hereditary ATTR amyloidosis with polyneuropathy, or malfunction of bodily nerves, and was shown in clinical trials to improve polyneuropathy and other symptoms. Alnylam expects to make the therapy available to ship to health care providers within two days. Today's approval marks a milestone for Alnylam as well as the RNAi field, which began about 20 years ago but has been marked by a number of prominent failures. ALNY’s was one of few companies that persisted in RNAi development in spite of the field's difficulties, and has described the therapy as a 15-year journey. ALNY’s shares surged nearly 52% after positive late-stage trial results for Onpattro; the stock lifted 3.3% in Friday trade before the halt.

 

The advance/decline line scenario of 45 covered companies:   

  • The open was positive with an A/DL of 28/14 and 3 flats;
  • The mid-day stayed positive with an A/DL of 24/17 and 4 flat;
  • The close was positive with an A/DL of 24/19 and 2 flats;

 

Pre-open to close indications: 4 hits and 2 miss:

  • Asterias Biotherapeutics (NYSEMKT: BTX) closed up +$0.20 – hit;
  • Athersys (ATHX) closed down -$0.06 – hit;
  • Caladrius Biosciences (CLBS) closed down -$0.22 – miss;
  • Editas Medicine (EDIT) closed up +$0.98 – miss;
  • Intrexon (XON) closed down -$0.34 – hit;
  • Organovo (ONVO) closed down -$0.24 – hit;

 

Volume (by the numbers) was LOW with some anomalies:

  • Volume to the upside = CUR, AGTC, HSGX, AST, RGNX, IONS
  • Volume to the downside = OSIR, BLFS, ONVO, XON and VSTM

 

MY working trend (5 largest) lines:

… The greatest volume to the downside:  VSTM, XON, ONVO, MDXG and GBT

… Upside volume was weighted to:  IONS, SGMO, RGNX, VCEL and GBT

… Leadership ($) to the downside:  AXGN (-$0.95), CRSP (-$0.84), FIXX (-$0.83), SLDB (-$0.81) and BMRN (-$0.57)

… Best moves ($) to the upside:  ALNY (+$3.12), BLUE (+$1.35), EDIT (+$0.98), SAGE (+$0.96) and RGNX (+$0.70)

… Flats:  MESO and PTSI

 

August, the weekly count - decliners versus gainers – looks at the percentage (%) view from a different angle:

……. look at the differences in decliners:

  • Friday’s decliners ranged from -0.33% <STML -$0.05> to -17.52% <ONVO -$0.24> in 19 equities;
  • Thursday’s decliners ranged from -0.11% < GBT -$0.05> to -5.46% <RGNX -$3.85 > in 14 equities;
  • Wednesday’s decliners ranged from -0.35% <RGNX -$0.25> to -15.19% <VYGR -$3.07> in 25 equities;
  • Tuesday’s decliners ranged from -0.26% <KOOL -$0.001> to -27.83% <ONCE -$21.60> in 14 equities;
  • Monday’s decliners ranged from -0.31% <MESO -$0.02> to -6.09% <CUR -$0.07> in 19 equities;
  • Last Friday’s decliners ranged from -0.67% <XON -$0.10> to -9.77% <RARE -$7.78> in 37 equities;

Versus

… Look at the percentage’s (%) and spreads …

  • Friday’s gainers ranged from +0.16% <BLCM +$0.01 > to +12.90% <AST +0.20> in 24 equities;
  • Thursday’s gainers ranged from +0.31% <ONCE +$0.18> to +11.30% <VSTM +$0.88 > in 29 equities;
  • Wednesday’s gainers ranged from +0.25% <BCLI +$0.01 > to +9.25% <BSTG +$0.31> in 16 equities;
  • Tuesday’s gainers ranged from +0.43% < CRSP +$0.21> to +25% <VCEL +$2.55> in 29 equities;
  • Monday’s gainers ranged from +0.07% <IONS +$0.03 > to +6.25% <MDXG +$0.26 > in 24 equities;
  • Last Friday’s gainers ranged from +1.26% <HSGX +$0.03 > to +6.64% <GBT +$2.90 > in 4 equities;

 

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market

  • Friday traded at 13.16, up +16.77%
  • Thursday traded at 11.20, up +3.23%
  • Wednesday traded at 10.85, down -0.73%
  • Tuesday traded at 10.93, down -3.02%
  • Monday traded at 11.27, down -3.18%
  • Last Friday traded at 11.64, down -4.51%

 

The iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology (IBB) closed:

  • Friday was down -0.55%
  • Thursday was down -0.15%
  • Wednesday was down -0.70%
  • Tuesday was up +1.23%
  • Monday was down -0.20%
  • Last Friday was down -0.75%

 

August sessions:

Friday closed POSITIVE with 19 decliners, 24 advancers and 2 flat;

Thursday closed POSITIVE with 14 decliners, 29 advancers and 2 flat;

Wednesday closed NEGATIVE with 25 decliners, 16 advancers and 4 flat;

Tuesday closed POSITIVE with 14 decliners, 29 advancers and 2 flat;

Monday closed POSITIVE with 19 decliners, 24 advancers and 2 flat;

Friday closed NEGATIVE with 37 decliners, 4 advancers and 4 flat;

Thursday closed POSITIVE with 16 decliners, 27 advancers and 2 flat;

Last Wednesday (8/1) closed NEGATIVE with 23 decliners, 21 advancers and 1 flat;

 

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.