Incyte beats on revenue, misses on earnings; reports good progress in pipeline
I am on vacation until August 26. I am using that downtime to catch up on some of the earnings reports I missed during the very busy second quarter earnings season. On July 30 Incyte (INCY) reported second quarter earnings of 26 cents a share, 4 cents below the Wall...
Nektar up 6.32% today on opioid data presentation
Frankly, my holdings of shares and options on Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) are driving me nuts. The stock is just so volatile that I can barely stand it even though I’m comfortable with the long-term trajectory of the company’s new non-addictive opioid and...
Nektar’s 40% drop yesterday was an extreme over-reaction: What I’m doing now
It’s never good to turn in disappointing results in a drug trial–as Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) did over the weekend–but to whack 40% off the stock price on this news is an extreme over-reaction. To justify a 40% drop you have to assume 1) that the...
FDA delivers less than half a loaf to INCY and LLY in approving Olumiant
Today the U.S. Food & Drug Administration did finally approve Baricitinib, now known as Olumiant, for the treatment of moderately-to-severely active rheumatoid arthritis. But the approval carries more restrictions than expected. The FDA approved only the 2...
Stock or options, Nektar needs some understanding and patience now
It hasn’t exactly been a stellar couple of months for shares and options on Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR). The stock, which I hold in my Jubak Picks portfolio, is down 23.1% since it hit a high of $108.44 on March 8. The August 17, 2018 call options with a strike...
Merck moves lower in spite of earnings beat
This morning before the New York markets opened Merck (MRK) reported earnings of $1.05 a share, ahead of the $1.00 a share forecast by Wall Street analysts. Earnings were up 19.3% from the first quarter of 2017. Revenue grew 6% to $10 billion. That narrowly missed the...
Positive catalysts are intact for Nektar Therapeutics
Shares of biotech rocket Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) are down 23.25% since they traded at $106.91 on March 21, 2018. I can’t find evidence that the positive catalysts that led me to recommend the stock for my Jubak Picks portfolio and the options for my...
Adding Merck to my Dividend Portfolio
News out of the imuno-oncology sector of the biotech world has hit stocks in my portfolios such as Incyte (INCY) and Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) hard. But, I’d argue that it has left Keytruda and its owner Merck (MRK) in a measurably stronger position in the...
FDA sets next date for Incyte arthritis drug, baricitinib
The Food and Drug Administration today announced that its Arthritis Advisory Committee will meet on April 23 to discuss the application by Incyte (INCY) and Eli Lilly (LLY) for approval of baricitinib for the treatment of adult patients with moderately to severely...
Holding Incyte in my Jubak Picks portfolio for mid-year catalysts
When I sold Acadia Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) out of my Jubak Picks portfolio on March 5, one reason I gave was that the catalysts for this biotech were too far out–results from critical drug trials weren’t likely to be reported for two years. The reason to...
Selling Acadia Pharmaceuticals out of my Jubak Picks portfolio
Today I’m selling Acadia Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) out of my Jubak Picks portfolio. I have a 13.52% loss on this position since I added the shares to the portfolio on November 15, 2016. There are short- and long-range reasons to sell. From a short-range perspective...
Nektar blows away revenue projections, gives very positive guidance on drug pipeline
Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) finished up 21.67% today to $102.87 after the biotech company announced after the close yesterday a smaller than expected fourth quarter 2017 loss of 21 cents a share (versus the Wall Street consensus projection of a 36 cents a...
Bristol-Myers puts up potential $3.6 billion in deal for 35% of a Nektar cancer drug
In the deal announced today Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) pays Nektar Therapeutics $1 billion upfront, $850 million for stock valued at a price of $102 a share, and a potential $1.78 billlion in milestone payments in exchange for access to NKTR 214, a drug candidate...
On the second day of Christmas my stock pick for 2018 is Nektar Therapeutics–and two-turtle doves
No point in hoping that Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) will match this year’s gain of 364% as of the close on December 18. But I think the stock could easily climb another 30% or more in 2018 as the company de-risks its very promising drug candidates in the opioid...
A reminder of why Jubak Pick Incyte has been so weak lately
On December 4 MacroGenics (MGNX) announced that it had closed on its previously announced (October 25) license agreement with Incyte (INCY). For an upfront payment of $150 million and up to $420 million in milestone payments Incyte gained the exclusive global rights...
Time to buy Incyte on the biotech dip
Maybe you didn’t even know there was a biotech dip. If all you’ve been following in the sector is a stock like Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR), a Jubak Picks member (and the call options are a holding in my Volatility Portfolio), you’re likely to respond...
Nektar soared today on cancer drug data–but remember that new opioid? That’s why I say “Buy” in Jubak Picks even after this run
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) shares finished the day up 14.15% on fairly preliminary, but very important data from the trials of the company’s lead cancer drug. Those results go a long way to validating the company’s entire pipeline of drug candidates to...
Some signs the bottom is in for Incyte
This qualifies as a horrendous six months for any stock: Shares of Incyte (INCY) are down from $152.66 on March 15 to $115.19 at the close today, October 2. The shares have been even lower, which is one thing giving me some hope that the pain is coming to an end. The...
Drug stocks like what the Trump administration is saying about regulating drug prices
What a difference a day makes. On Wednesday the headline worry was a study warning that drug price increases were moderating. Industry watcher EvaluatePharma had cut its global revenue forecast for the drug industry by $390 billion for 2017-2022. The forecast echoes...
Incyte up on positive trial results
Shares of Incyte (INCY) are up 7.1% as of 12:30 p.m. New York time on data released before the June meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology showing that Incyte’s epacadostat, which is an IDO inhibitor, has proved effective when used in combination...
Sell Bristol-Myers Squibb before Thursday’s earnings report
I’m selling Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) out of my Jubak Picks portfolio ahead of Thursday’s report of first quarter earnings. I’m afraid that earnings will confirm what monthly sales reports from Bristol-Myers and competitors have outlined: That the...
Incyte dropped 10.5% yesterday on FDA drug “rejection”: Here’s what’s actually going on (and why you shouldn’t sell)
I know the headlines on Friday said that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had “rejected” Olumiant (known more frequently until recently as baricitinib), a new drug for rheumatoid arthritis from Eli Lilly (LLY) and research lead Incyte Corp (INCY.) And...
Here’s what I’ve been writing about on my paid sites: Biotech stocks dipping just before medical meeting schedule gets heavy
Let me share a post about a trading opportunity that I put up today on my paid sites. Yes, that’s sites. Plural. I’ve been busy building a second site, JugglingWithKnives.com, that parallels the focus of my book Juggling With Knives on volatility. If you...
Merck writes off $2.9 billion it spent on hepatitis C drug purchased in 2014; here’s who to watch in the biotech sector after this news
Merck (MRK) has announced that it will take a $2.9 billion charge (or $1.9 billion after taxes) and restate its fourth quarter and full year 2016 earnings (announced on February 3) to write down most of its 2014 purchase of Idenix Pharmaceuticals and its hepatitis C...
Incyte is on the way to becoming a complete drug company–or an expensive acquisition candidate
Usually with a biotech stock you trade the present for the future: no revenue now but the promise of big revenue to come. Incyte’s (INCY) most recent quarter, reported on February 14, doesn’t require that trade off. Which means investors should be asking a...
Incyte ended 2016 with big news; begins 2017 the same way–and stock climbs 9.44% on the day
Incyte (INCY) ended 2016 with a big deal. The company agreed to pay Merus (MRUS) $120 million and to buy $80 million in Merus stock for the exclusive rights to 11 bispecific antibody programs. The companies will work together to develop and commercialize these...
Shares of Jubak Pick Acadia Pharmaceuticals pop 11% on buyout rumors
Update January 4. Shares of Acadia Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) were up 12% this morning, January 4, before closing with a gain of 11.02% to $31.94. The action came on rumors that Pfizer (PFE) or another big drug company would make a bid for the biotech on the strength of...
So much for the post-Trump-victory drug stock rally
“I’m going to bring down drug prices. I don’t like what’s happened with drug prices,” President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview with Time posted on the magazine’s website today. So much, the stock market has concluded today, for the idea that a President...
Selling Allergan out of my 12-18 month Jubak Picks portfolio; will be adding it to long-term 50 Stocks portfolio
I still like Allergan’s (AGN) portfolio of anti-aging drugs, especially it’s Botox franchise. But I’m not especially fond of the company’s current strategy of acquisitions in the very hot market for NASH drugs. Yes, someone will win a key...Jim’s Daily Email Alerts:
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