Look for Value + Growth Picks in a Biotech Bear Market

Review our assumptions from previous posts:

Today’s Movers with the IBB flat at $261.44 and XBI up 1% at $51.82:

GW Pharmaceuticals PLC ADR (GWPH) up 120% on Positive Phase 3 Results for Epidiolex Cannabinoid drug.

Epidiolex, a marijuana related compound, showed positive results in the treatment of Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy in children with no FDA treatments.Primary endpoint shows a reduction in convulsive seizures compared with a placebo in a randomized study with 120 patients. The Company is based in London and has strong funding with over $300M in cash as of last filing. The stock is still down 11.45% over 12 months with a 52 week high of $133.98.

Mid-Caps Rising

The mid-cap biopharmaceutical sector is one of the most important for overall health of biotechnology because of broad pipelines, strong balance sheets and potential for M&A. One of the top Companies in the sector Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY) soared 5.8% on dosing news for its Phase 1 Fitusiran Hemophilia drug.

Other major mid-caps were mixed but Seattle Genetics (SGEN) was up 1.32% to $33.80 however Anacor Pharamceuticals (ANAC) soared 5% to $66.74 but still off its 2015 high of $156.93. ANAC got a boost from Jeffries on a research report because of its small molecule boron chemistry platform,

Large Caps Sluggish

The leader among the large caps was Gilead Sciences (GILD) up 1.39% to $90.46. Celgene (CELG) was the biggest loser down 1.83%. Gilead Sciences is our top pick among the large caps and UBS analyst Matthew Roden agrees because of valuation and PEG at 1.43.