"The medical arena has long been my favorite sectors; perhaps the best opportunities within the medical sector will be with companies who provide life-saving products for the treatment of serious diseases," says Dave Dyer.
In The Dave Dyer Newsletter, he explains, "That is why Celgene (NASDAQ: CELG) is an excellent choice in this economy." Here's his look at this "recession-resistant" company.
"Celgene is a multinational biopharmaceutical company with a $29 billion market cap and no debt. Revlimid is their blockbuster drug with multi-billion dollar potential. It was first approved by the FDA in 2005, and it has many good years of patent protection ahead of it.
"Revlimid delays the onset of progression of deadly diseases -- leprosy and multiple myeloma. No wonder it is worth $6,000 per month. It is a close derivative of their other drug Thalomid. This drug was used by another company about 50 years ago to treat morning sickness in pregnant women and caused numerous birth defects.
"Despite a recession, we believe that demand for its products will remain strong. For example, if you have multiple myeloma, you would probably do just about anything before missing a payment for your monthly dose of Revlimid.
"Auto sales may plunge, home sales may stay in the tank and retail sales may fall, but disease, old age and human frailty are undeniably 'forever.'
"While the economy in 2009 is almost certainly going to contract, analysts expect the sale of biologic drugs and other life sciences products to increase 12%-15% -- with some winners growing much faster.
"The winners will be rewarded, even in a bear market. In the past year, Gilead has outperformed the Nasdaq by more than 30 percentage points -- and it's doing it as a mature biotech.
"Bull markets have been few and far between this summer; one of the few sectors that looks to have re-entered a bull trend is biotechnology," says international investing expert Nick Vardy.
In his Global Bull Market Alert, he explains, "The S&P Biotech ETF (ASE: XBI) looks to capitalize on this traditionally highly volatile and boom bust burdened sector." Here's his bullish assessment.
"Why the sudden merger and acquisitions frenzy in biotech? Put simply, 'Big Pharma' is cash-rich but innovation-poor.
"As patents on huge profit generators such as Pfizer's Lipitor expire, the traditional pharmaceutical industry is eager to refill its emptying drug pipelines.
"On the one hand, Big Pharma hopes giant acquisitions jump start pharmaceuticals' sputtering innovation machines. On the other hand, existing biotech blockbusters would also hedge against the coming collapse in earnings from drugs that are coming off patent.
"Biogen recently got hammered on 'bad' news that wasn't actually so bad. BIIB and partner Elan (NYSE: ELN) reported that two MS patients, out of 31,800 currently receiving Tysabri, developed a rare brain malady called PML.
"It's important to note, here, that the two companies had predicted that one in 1000 cases could develop PML and the FDA let the drug come to market with this understanding with a strong set of patient warnings and physician follow up.
"Tysabri has succeeded in the marketplace because it is a superior treatment for MS -- and the patients who use it agree, despite its high cost of $30,000 per year. I expect only a very small drop off in market acceptance for Tysabri and when it becomes apparent the drug is still desired by patients and doctors, the stock should rebound significantly.
"BIIB is still targeting 100,000 patients by 2010 and that would translate into $1 billion per quarter in sales.The two cases of PML cut the stock by almost 30% -- and that's ridiculous. It's simply too big a move for a cash-rich, risk-free company with several major drugs -- especially Rituxan which is taking more market share every quarter.
"Biogen Idec also has the ability to add new products through licensing or direct acquisition, and I expect it to do so in the coming quarters. This temporary downturn is a godsend for investors! BIIB is now selling well below the valuations of other large-cap, double-digit biotech growers. Take advantage of this mistake before the Street wakes up."
Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers a daily look at the latest market commentary and favorite stock picks and investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.
"Alkermes (NASDAQ: ALKS) recently produced a two-pronged positive surprise; an increase in the size of their already existing stock buyback program and a boost in their financial guidance," says John McCamant.
In his Medical Technology Stock Letter, the biotech sector expert looks at this firm which focuses on treatments for central nervous system disorders, alcohol depenence, and schizophrenia. Here is his review.
"Both of these moves were made possible by the announcement that ALKS has received a $40 million payment from Eli Lilly, their former partner for the now defunct AIR Insulin program.
"ALKS now has the authorization to buy back up to $215 million in common stock. To date, the company has bought back roughly eight million shares of common stock for a cost of about $106 million.
"Additionally, as noted, ALKS has upped their financial guidance for fiscal 2009. Operating income for the year is now expected to end up on the positive side of the ledger, with ALKS anticipating $10-$15 million for the full year.
A graph from the May 2008 issue of Harvard Business Review tells a story about the dumbing down of the global economy.
From an article, Rebuilding the R&D Engine in Big Pharma [subscription required] the graph shows the total shareholder returns for various industries in two time periods: from 1985 to 2000 and from 2001 to 2007. Here are three of the leading sectors from 1985 to 2000 (average annual shareholder returns are in parentheses):
Pharmaceuticals (20.0%)
Financials (18.8%)
IT (17.4%)
Between 2001 and 2007, three of the leading sectors were:
Shares of biotechnology company Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) have been plunging this morning, despite the firm posting better-than-expected first quarter earnings per share. Hurting the stock this morning is the company's full-year sales guidance, which was unchanged.
Gilead Sciences reported late yesterday that its profit during the first-quarter jumped 22% to $496.1 million, or 51 cents per share, boosted by strong HIV treatments Atripla and Truvada sales. These numbers are up from $407.4 million, or 43 cents per share reported in the same period a year ago. Analysts' forecast was for lower earnings of 47 cents per share in the quarter.
The company's quarterly revenue also surged by a respectable 22% to $1.26 billion. For this period, the company benefited from strong gains from combination HIV treatment Atripla which came with sales of $342.2 million, a 70 percent rise. HIV drugs sales also saw a growth of 37% to $964.7 million. Analysts, on average, expected Gilead Sciences's sales to be $1.22 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.
Something else: the cofounder of 23andMe is Anne Wojcicki, who is married to Google zillionaire, Sergey Brin.
Even though 23andMe is focused on the biotech market, there's still synergy with Google. That is, the company is developing cool technologies to decipher the genome. And to do this, you actually need to provide some of your own DNA (but, if you watch CSI, you know this is pretty easy).
So, if many people store personal information on websites (like credit cards), why not your genome?
Besides, it can be a great platform for researchers to devise innovative medical treatments.
As the website states: "Even though your body contains trillions of copies of your genome, you've likely never read any of it. Our goal is to connect you to the 23 paired volumes of your own genetic blueprint (plus your mitochondrial DNA), bringing you personal insight into ancestry, genealogy, and inherited traits. By connecting you to others, we can also help put your genome into the larger context of human commonality and diversity."
Yes, it's a brave new world after all.
And, if you want to check out more venture fundings, click here.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Advanced Micro Devices, Intel Corporation, Netscout Systems, Guidance Software and Nasdaq were today's noteworthy initiations:
Morgan Stanley started shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NYSE: AMD) and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) with Underweight ratings and a $11 target and $22 target, respectively. The firm recommends selling shares of both as they expect an inventory correction and increasingly aggressive price environment.
Kaufman Brothers initiated shares of Netscout Systems Inc (NASDAQ: NTCT) with a Buy rating and $13.50 target. The firm is positive on the Network General acquisition and believes successful integration as well as continued improvement in sales execution will drive shares higher.
Roth Capital resumed coverage of Guidance Software Inc (NASDAQ: GUID) with a Buy rating and $15 target and said the company is the market leader for digital forensics and that new regulations have accelerated electronic discovery in the forensic market.
Jefferies started shares of The Nasdaq Stock Market Inc (NASDAQ: NDAQ) with a Buy rating and $45 target and believes the company's relative underperformance over the past two years creates an attractive entry point as earnings are poised to accelerate.
"After its run to a new all-time high last month, Amylin (NASDAQ: AMLN) appears to be undergoing some upper level consolidation," notes biotech specialist John McCamant.
Following a presentation by the firm's CEO at a biotech conference, the editor of The Medical Technology Stock Letter concludes, "Management has made a compelling case why the stock's current trading range should be just a weigh station on the way to an even loftier valuation."
The advisor explains, "At the Newsmakers in the Biotech Industry Conference -- which took place September 6 – CEO Dan Bradbury discussed the still unrealized growth potential of both Byetta and Symlin."
Regarding Byetta, he notes that Mr. Bradbury indicated that over 85% of diabetes specialists have prescribed the drug at this point, we are now starting to see prescription growth among primary care physicians."
Each year Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Picks Report.
Cardium Therapeutics (OTCBB: CDTP) is the top conservative idea for 2007 from John McCamant, editor of The Medical Technology Stock Letter. He explains, "Cardium is an innovative medical technology company with two gene therapy-based drug candidates in development and an approved medical device.
"Its drug candidates and medical device are designed to harness the capacity of the human body to heal, protect, and repair. While CDTP intends to develop some products internally, they have initially focused on acquiring 'fallen angel' opportunities that have unrealized value and potential for significant growth.
"The management team has been together for over 10 years and their skill set uniquely positions them to acquire undervalued companies or assets. The key to their 'fallen angel' strategy is the ability of management to efficiently evaluate the most interesting drug candidates or devices.
Each year Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Picks Report.
Sonus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNUS) is the top speculative pick for 2007 from John McCamant. The editor of The Medical Technology Stock Letter says, "Sonus is one of the more exciting companies in the biotech investment arena.
"The firm is intently focused on the development of superior versions of existing cancer drug treatments that not only offer potentially improved efficacy, but also significantly more attractive safety profiles. Their lead product candidate, TOCOSOL Paclitaxel, is a reformulated version of paclitaxel, which belongs to the taxane class of chemotherapeutics -- which are among the most successful and frequently used.
"However, existing treatments have unattractive safety profiles; Sonus's treatment may be a significant improvement, and we will not have to wait much longer to find out. SNUS just recently completed enrollment in their over 800-patient Phase III trial for metastatic breast cancer treatment. We can expect results in the second half of next year, and if positive, the company will file for approval by the end of 2007.
GE closed at $34.55, up 15 cents. Not exactly a major push, but it's nice to see things moving up for GE when its been pumping out a slew of positive reports. Today's news includes a major step forward in biotechnology for GE Healthcare is now better able to automatically harvest cord blood, which allows stem cells to be harvested.
The interesting news for GE today came from the normally moribund NBC division which is going to release Jay Leno's Tonight Show on iTunes in addition to the other NBC shows recently added to the online store. I don't imagine this will turn into a major cash cow, but CSI is certainly a very popular show all around. Finding other ways to gain money for existing properties is smart, and it is encouraging that more shows are coming out this way.
A graph from the May 2008 issue of Harvard Business Review tells a story about the dumbing down of the global economy.
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GE closed at $34.55, up 15 cents. Not exactly a major push, but it's nice to see things moving up for GE when its been pumping out a slew of positive reports. Today's news includes a major step forward in biotechnology for GE Healthcare is now better able to 
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