لمحبين البايو

جمشيد · 16-03-2005, 08:46 PM

منقول كما هو من الفوربز

Biotech Roundup

Biotech Bargain Hunting
Peter Kang, 03.14.05, 7:00 AM ET

It's been a rough couple of weeks for the biotechnology sector. Standard & Poor's Equity Research lowered its opinion of the industry last Tuesday to "neutral" from "positive," citing recent drug-filing delays, safety concerns and mixed fourth-quarter results. "While we find a number of names attractive, we think there are many issues that are not," the research firm said. "We have concerns over options expensing in second half of 2005, and see a significant negative impact for smaller issues." The American Stock Exchange Pharmaceutical Index (DRG) reversed small gains last week with a decline of 1.13%, while Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI) continued its descent into the abyss, falling 2.56%. Despite that, bargain hunters were stalking the biotech sector.

Shares of Biogen Idec (nasdaq: BIIB - news - people ) and Elan (nyse: ELN - news - people ) attempted a dead-cat bounce this week, as vulture investors went bargain hunting. It remains to be seen however, if the shares are truly at bargain prices. On Thursday Biogen announced the resignation of its general counsel amid accusations of improper stock sales. Biogen shares ended the week with a modest gain of 1.33%, while Elan bounced 19.24%.

Celgene (nasdaq: CELG - news - people ) shares jumped 18% last Monday after the biotech firm announced promising Phase III results for its experimental bone cancer treatment Revlimid, considered by many to be the biotechnology firm's key earnings growth driver. The drug met its goals for efficacy in two Phase III trials for multiple myeloma (MM).

Prudential Equity Group upgraded Celgene to "overweight" from "neutral weight" and raised its target price to $38 from $34, saying investors would likely put recent concerns regarding Celgene's Revlimid FDA submission for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients with "5q minus" chromosomal abnormalities on the back burner. "We believe that today's news ne****s investors concerns regarding Revlimid's approvability in 5q minus MDS," it said. "In the near term, we believe investors are likely look past the uncertainty surrounding Revlimid's 5q minus MDS submission (which we continue to have concerns regarding), and focus on the drug's potential in the larger indication of MM."

The following day, J.P. Morgan Securities downgraded Millennium Pharmaceuticals (nasdaq: MLNM - news - people ) to "neutral" from "overweight," based on "a more tepid intermediate and long-term outlook for Velcade," given the "overwhelmingly positive" results from Celgene. Millennium's stock closed down 3.36% on the downgrade. "In our view, these overwhelmingly positive results for Revlimid negatively alter the outlook for Velcade in both the second- and third-line MM settings, the key drivers of growth for this franchise in the near-to-medium term. The earlier-than-expected data release coupled with the highly statistically significant positive efficacy data, in our view, puts greater competitive pressure on Velcade's growth prospects."

Boston Scientific (nyse: BSX - news - people ) shares fell 2.1% on Monday, as trial data released over the weekend indicated the Cypher stent, made by Johnson & Johnson (nyse: JNJ - news - people ) performed better than Boston Scientific's Taxus stent. Prudential Equity Group downgraded Boston Scientific to "underweight" from "neutral" on Monday, saying the results indicated a "deteriorating risk/reward profile with little upside." The firm said, "The significance of this trial is that it directly challenges the perception that Taxus is superior to Cypher in diabetics; in fact, it suggests the opposite. Cypher patients in this trial had directionally longer lesions and smaller vessels than Taxus, pre-empting a possible counter-argument that these were easy patients, and making the results for Cypher all the more impressive." The research firm lowered its price target for Boston Scientific to $29 from $35. "The data are overwhelmingly positive for Cypher compared with Taxus, traditionally signaling a pending share shift," said Prudential. "Growing signals of safety issues and recurrent data suggesting clinical superiority for the J&J Cypher make near-term share losses more likely, but more importantly in our view, make new entrants more threatening by leaving more unmet needs."

16-03-2005, 08:46 PM	#1
جمشيد متداول نشيط تاريخ التسجيل: May 2004 المشاركات: 471	لمحبين البايو منقول كما هو من الفوربز Biotech Roundup Biotech Bargain Hunting Peter Kang, 03.14.05, 7:00 AM ET It's been a rough couple of weeks for the biotechnology sector. Standard & Poor's Equity Research lowered its opinion of the industry last Tuesday to "neutral" from "positive," citing recent drug-filing delays, safety concerns and mixed fourth-quarter results. "While we find a number of names attractive, we think there are many issues that are not," the research firm said. "We have concerns over options expensing in second half of 2005, and see a significant negative impact for smaller issues." The American Stock Exchange Pharmaceutical Index (DRG) reversed small gains last week with a decline of 1.13%, while Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI) continued its descent into the abyss, falling 2.56%. Despite that, bargain hunters were stalking the biotech sector. Shares of Biogen Idec (nasdaq: BIIB - news - people ) and Elan (nyse: ELN - news - people ) attempted a dead-cat bounce this week, as vulture investors went bargain hunting. It remains to be seen however, if the shares are truly at bargain prices. On Thursday Biogen announced the resignation of its general counsel amid accusations of improper stock sales. Biogen shares ended the week with a modest gain of 1.33%, while Elan bounced 19.24%. Celgene (nasdaq: CELG - news - people ) shares jumped 18% last Monday after the biotech firm announced promising Phase III results for its experimental bone cancer treatment Revlimid, considered by many to be the biotechnology firm's key earnings growth driver. The drug met its goals for efficacy in two Phase III trials for multiple myeloma (MM). Prudential Equity Group upgraded Celgene to "overweight" from "neutral weight" and raised its target price to $38 from $34, saying investors would likely put recent concerns regarding Celgene's Revlimid FDA submission for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients with "5q minus" chromosomal abnormalities on the back burner. "We believe that today's news ne****s investors concerns regarding Revlimid's approvability in 5q minus MDS," it said. "In the near term, we believe investors are likely look past the uncertainty surrounding Revlimid's 5q minus MDS submission (which we continue to have concerns regarding), and focus on the drug's potential in the larger indication of MM." The following day, J.P. Morgan Securities downgraded Millennium Pharmaceuticals (nasdaq: MLNM - news - people ) to "neutral" from "overweight," based on "a more tepid intermediate and long-term outlook for Velcade," given the "overwhelmingly positive" results from Celgene. Millennium's stock closed down 3.36% on the downgrade. "In our view, these overwhelmingly positive results for Revlimid negatively alter the outlook for Velcade in both the second- and third-line MM settings, the key drivers of growth for this franchise in the near-to-medium term. The earlier-than-expected data release coupled with the highly statistically significant positive efficacy data, in our view, puts greater competitive pressure on Velcade's growth prospects." Boston Scientific (nyse: BSX - news - people ) shares fell 2.1% on Monday, as trial data released over the weekend indicated the Cypher stent, made by Johnson & Johnson (nyse: JNJ - news - people ) performed better than Boston Scientific's Taxus stent. Prudential Equity Group downgraded Boston Scientific to "underweight" from "neutral" on Monday, saying the results indicated a "deteriorating risk/reward profile with little upside." The firm said, "The significance of this trial is that it directly challenges the perception that Taxus is superior to Cypher in diabetics; in fact, it suggests the opposite. Cypher patients in this trial had directionally longer lesions and smaller vessels than Taxus, pre-empting a possible counter-argument that these were easy patients, and making the results for Cypher all the more impressive." The research firm lowered its price target for Boston Scientific to $29 from $35. "The data are overwhelmingly positive for Cypher compared with Taxus, traditionally signaling a pending share shift," said Prudential. "Growing signals of safety issues and recurrent data suggesting clinical superiority for the J&J Cypher make near-term share losses more likely, but more importantly in our view, make new entrants more threatening by leaving more unmet needs."