There's a very interesting feature over at The Motley Fool and I find it very useful . The CAPS community stock rating pages give highly understandable insight plus gems of investor feedback which help to bring the knowledge about individual stocks to a layman's level. Investment players like me benefit from this feature.

La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company (NASDAQ:LJPC) has the CAPS number one spot this weekend based on a 43.1% stock value spike fueled by moderately positive interim results in a phase III study of its number one product Riquent. The drug in question shows promise in the treatment of Lupus, a chronic inflammatory disease that can cause organ malfunction. However, analysts are skeptical regarding the value of this phase III test result as a basis for developing a strong position in the company.

Even those investors who express a positive mood, unwittingly show reservations about whether or not the LJPC spike can be supported. Analyst consensus is "hold" on LJPC stock and neutral on the company. It is worthy of note that an Associated Press news release regarding the LJPC test results states: "Several drug makers are in advanced stage trials for lupus drugs. To date, no specific lupus drug has been approved in the United States."(emphasis mine)

I myself expect LJPC share value to recede quickly and I would base my choices on that belief. I see nothing else of interest in the company's fundamentals... at least not to the positive side. If I had shares of JLPC which I purchased at bargain, I'd be tempted to unload half of them immediately to reap some of the current gain. If I had bought those shares for a higher price, I'd be comfortable holding on to them for a while just to see what develops.

La Jolla Pharma: What are the Fools saying? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Mar 2007 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.