Top Biotech Stocks To Invest In Right Now

tags:AMGN,ARQL,BIIB,ALNY,

SLS International (AMEX:SLS) has been given a $11.00 target price by stock analysts at HC Wainwright in a note issued to investors on Monday. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

SLS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Maxim Group set a $13.00 price target on SLS International and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 2nd. Raymond James Financial restated a “hold” rating on shares of SLS International in a report on Monday, December 18th.

Shares of AMEX:SLS opened at $0.00 on Monday.

Top Biotech Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Amgen Inc.(AMGN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Lange]

  Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) is waiting for the FDA to review its Biologics License Application (BLA) for Aimovig (erenumab) for the prevention of migraine in patients experiencing four or more migraine days per month. The FDA has set a PDUFA date for May 17.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Field & Main Bank grew its stake in shares of Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 9.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,153 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 345 shares during the quarter. Field & Main Bank’s holdings in Amgen were worth $708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  AlphaMark Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 5.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,973 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,638 shares during the period. Amgen comprises about 2.0% of AlphaMark Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. AlphaMark Advisors LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $4,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Keith Speights]

  Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) has been the hands-down winner over Celgene (NASDAQ:CELG) in terms of stock performance over the last year. It's the same story for revenue generated. Celgene beat Amgen in earnings, but only because of a technicality: Amgen incurred a big one-time tax hit in 2017.

Top Biotech Stocks To Invest In Right Now: ArQule Inc.(ARQL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  BidaskClub upgraded shares of ArQule (NASDAQ:ARQL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

  A number of other research firms have also issued reports on ARQL. Roth Capital upped their price target on ArQule from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 17th. Leerink Swann upgraded ArQule from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 5th. Zacks Investment Research lowered ArQule from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 4th. ValuEngine upgraded ArQule from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 2nd. Finally, B. Riley set a $4.00 price target on ArQule and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, The stock currently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $4.69.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  ArQule, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQL) Director Ronald M. Lindsay acquired 23,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $2.67 per share, for a total transaction of $63,813.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 43,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $117,213. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  Shares of development-stage biopharma ArQule (NASDAQ:ARQL) rose nearly 17% today after the company announced two appointments to its management team in two newly created positions. Dr. Marc Schegerin will serve as senior vice president, corporate strategy, communication, and finance. Dr. Shirish Hirani will serve as senior vice president, program management and product planning.�

Top Biotech Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Biogen Idec Inc(BIIB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Orelli]

  Drug-developer Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) reported a pretty strong earnings�increase in the first quarter. While revenue growth wasn't as solid, investors appear to be giving management a pass, thanks to its explanations on why slowing first-quarter sales aren't a sign of future trouble.

• [By Chris Lange]

  Short interest in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) decreased to 3.45 million shares from the previous 3.50 million. The stock recently traded at $274.50, within a 52-week range of $244.28 to $370.57.

• [By Chris Lange]

  The S&P 500 stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Monday was Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) which traded down nearly 4% at $329.58. The stock��s 52-week range is $244.28 to $348.84. Volume was 1.2 million matching the daily average of 1.2 million shares.

• [By Chris Lange]

  Short interest in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) increased to 3.50 million shares from the previous 3.16 million. The stock recently traded at $262.15, within a 52-week range of $244.28 to $370.57.

Top Biotech Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ALNY)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Keith Speights]

  I wrote three months ago that I viewed Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) stock as a pretty good pick -- but with a couple of qualifications. First, I didn't think that the biotech would generate returns in 2018 nearly as great as it did last year. Second, I thought that there were even better stocks to buy than Alnylam.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.41) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $21.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.23 million. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 36.81% and a negative net margin of 565.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.25) earnings per share. equities analysts anticipate that Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

• [By Brian Orelli]

  Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) released first-quarter results last week, but all eyes were looking forward as the company waits for a potential approval of its hereditary TTR amyloidosis (ATTR) drug, patisiran.

US government proposes removal of the so-called 'startup visa'

The Department of Homeland Security has formally proposed to rescind the so-called startup visa, a program that was enacted by the Obama administration.

In a document filed Friday to the Federal Registrar, the government states that it believes the program is "inadvisable, impracticable, and an unwarranted use of limited agency resources."

DHS said the rule lacks sufficient protections for US workers and investors, and believes it to be "out of sync with DHS' current policy priorities."

The rule aimed to help keep foreign entrepreneurs in the United States by giving them a workaround to existing visas. It says foreigners building "fast-growing businesses" could apply for "parole status" to work in the United States. Parole status is typically granted to individuals who need a visa to work on humanitarian or medical relief.

While some nations, such as France and Canada, have special visas intended to encourage foreign entrepreneurs to build companies in their countries, the United States does not. People who come to America and start companies typically have to navigate a complicated web of existing visas, like the H-1B. The H-1B requires individuals to work under the control of an employer, making it difficult to launch a company.

The rule indicates that entrepreneurs must show that their young companies -- no more than five years old -- have the potential for "rapid growth" and job creation, by way of government grants of at least $100,000 or funding of at least $250,000 from a qualified investor. The rule excludes small businesses from consideration. Startups must also be able to operate legally in the country, and founders must own a minimum 10% stake of the firm at the time of the application.

The parole status lasts for 2.5 years and could be renewed for another 2.5 years. It could also be revoked at any time if it's believed the company is no longer benefiting the public.

The program was slated to begin in June 2017, but it never really got off of the ground. The Trump administration delayed its launch just days before it was set to begin. Then in September, the National Venture Capital Association and startup founders sued the Department of Homeland Security, arguing that the agency didn't follow proper "notice-and-comment" procedures before delaying the rule.

In December, a judge said that the Department of Homeland Security did not have reasonable cause to delay the start of the visa program for foreign entrepreneurs. It posted instructions and a form to apply later that month.

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services director L. Francis Cissna wrote in a letter in April that government had not processed any requests for the visa to date and confirmed plans to rescind the rule. The government has received approximately 12 applications for the program, but has not yet issued any final decisions, according to a USCIS spokesperson

DHS said in its filing Friday that it believes the rule focused too much on the economic benefits that potential foreign entrepreneurs may bring without providing a clear pathway for them to remain in the US.

The notice will be officially published on Tuesday, at which point there will be a 30-day period for the public to comment on the proposal to rescind the rule.

Turkey's Election Angst Is Driving Up Demand for Gold Coins

With just a month until elections, shopkeepers at Turkey’s biggest bazaar say they’re seeing a jump in demand for gold coins.

“Turkish people have an interesting behavior -- they buy gold when the prices are rising, they think it’s gonna rise more,” said Gokhan Karakan, 32, who runs a gold exchange office in the heart of Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar. “People think there is a trend here and choose to buy gold until uncertainty is out of the way.”

On Friday afternoon, at the Grand Bazaar -- one of the world’s oldest covered markets -- shopkeepers said more customers were buying gold, instead of selling it, in hopes that the metal will keep its worth as the value of the lira plunges. Gold priced in lira is more expensive than ever, but that’s not deterring buyers, who are looking for a safe haven.

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“Turkish people love gold,” said Tekin Firat, 30, who owns and runs a gold store in the bazaar. “People think that it will never lose in the long run.”

QuickTake: What the Lira’s Plight Says About Turkey’s Economy

Citizens are buying up gold as the lira plunges in latest currency crisis. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who’s about to launch a re-election campaign that may provide the toughest electoral test of his 15 years in power, is an outspoken advocate of cheap money. He’s up against investors demanding higher returns to fund an economy beset by inflation and a swollen current account deficit.

Gold has a special importance in Turkey. The country is to home the ancient kingdom of Lydia, where the earliest known gold coinage originated in the 7th century B.C.

Turkey imported 118 metric tons of bullion, worth $5 billion at today’s prices, in first four months of this year, the most over that period, according to data going back to 1995 from the Istanbul Gold Exchange. Last year, imports reached a record.

It’s not just consumers that are snapping up gold. Official reserves have also increased over the past year. The central bank doesn’t comment on its gold strategy, but previously said the changes in its holdings are part of an effort to diversify its reserves.

The reported figure may be misleadingly high because the central bank allows commercial banks to deposit gold as part of their reserves. The government last year launched a campaign to get more “under-the-pillow gold” into the formal banking system. About half of the 216 ton inflow since the start of 2017 can be attributed to this alternative source, according to Matthew Turner, a strategist at Macquarie Group Ltd. in London.

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Even so, the purchases have happened a year after Erdogan urged Turks to convert their foreign currency savings into liras and gold, and tensions with the U.S. reached a new low.

“The central bank certainly has been more active in the gold market,” said Turner. “It seems the government would like a larger share of its reserves in assets that’s not related to the U.S. dollar.”

In 2017, the central bank withdrew of its 28.7 tons of gold, worth about $1.2 billion, from Federal Reserve vaults. It didn’t say where the gold went, but holdings increased at Borsa Instanbul, the Bank of England and Bank of International Settlements, according to a report released in April.

The decision for any country to withdraw gold from U.S. vaults is rare -- happening only a handful of times in the past decade. Since 2011, Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary and Venezuela have repatriated their gold holdings from the U.S.

Turkey’s decision to withdraw gold may have been a reaction to U.S. court cases against Turkish banks for alleged deals struck with Iran, said Cagdas Kucukemiroglu, a Middle Eastern gold analyst at research firm Metals Focus.

“Having the gold physically at home allows countries to feel like they are in control of their reserves,” said Brian Lucey, a professor of finance at Trinity Business School in Dublin.

— With assistance by Onur Ant

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US Justice Department Investigating Cryptocurrency Price Manipulation

The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) reportedly has opened a criminal investigation into illegal manipulation of bitcoin prices. According to a report at Bloomberg News citing unnamed sources, investigators will be searching for evidence of illegal practices that place false orders in an effort to create the appearance of market activity.

The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the federal agency charged with oversight of the futures and options market, is reportedly joining the DoJ in the investigation. Other federal agencies also may be involved.

This past March, an investor named Sylvain Ribes posted a story in which he claimed his own investigation of a cryptocurrency exchange called OKex indicated that�about 93% of trading volume was�the result of wash trading, a type of illegal trade where sellers buy their own offerings as a way to show that demand for the goods is higher than it really is.

The CFTC in December subpoenaed records from another cryptocurrency exchange, Bitfinex, and a digital currency firm Tether that pegs the value of its digital currency to the U.S. dollar.

In addition to wash trading, the DoJ investigation is also said to be targeting spoofing, another method of faking trades to make trading volume look much higher than it actually is. The object of spoofing and wash trading is to create an image of demand that will lead other unsuspecting traders to jump in as well.

The CFTC in 2015 declared virtual currencies to be a commodity and claims investigatory power, including the authority to subpoena exchange operators. Commissioner Brian Quintenz said earlier this year that the CFTC will focus its attention on fraud, market manipulation and disruptive trading in the cryptocurrency markets. It looks like that’s what’s now happening.

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At $78,000, Tesla Moves Mass-Market Model 3 Beyond the Masses

Elon Musk’s Model 3, once touted as Tesla’s $35,000 car for the masses, can now set a buyer back almost $80,000.

Musk unveiled specifications for a faster and more powerful version of the Model 3 in a series of tweets over the weekend. It will cost $78,000, more than double the $35,000 base-model starting price discussed into the run-up before the electric car’s deliveries started last year. And that doesn’t include the Autopilot driver-assist feature.

The increasingly expensive configurations for the Model 3 are planned steps, if somewhat counterintuitive ones, toward Musk’s vision of Tesla Inc. as a mass-production player with vehicles affordable to a broader swath of buyers. The $78,000 sticker puts the electric sedan beyond reach of many consumers, and, by Musk’s own estimations, brings it closer to the realm of luxury cars.

“A Model 3 with a $35,000 price will be the rarest of the rare,” said Kevin Tynan, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst. “Perhaps the second most collectible Tesla ever, behind the one floating around in space.”

Musk’s latest tweets build the hype around a car that’s faced repeated production delays and manufacturing bottlenecks, which the company is just starting to clear. Tesla delivered 8,180 of the sedans in the first quarter, making it the best-selling electric car in America, and almost a half-million people have put down $1,000 deposits for Model 3s.

Original Vision

When Model 3 deliveries started in July, Tesla described the $35,000 price for a Model 3 with a standard battery with a 220-mile range before options or incentives. But its focus was on fulfilling orders for customers who wanted longer-range battery packs with faster charging, pushing the price up to about $44,000.

In a letter to shareholders earlier this month, Musk said that the company would begin offering new options such as all-wheel drive -- and a base model with a standard-sized battery pack -- once his factory in Fremont, California, reaches a production rate of 5,000 cars a week.

Only the expensive performance model was mentioned in Musk’s tweets this weekend. The company’s current business model and financial position -- it’s operating at a loss and has negative operating cash flow -- mean “that this is not the time for a $35,000 Model 3,” Tynan said in emailed comments.

A Tesla spokesman declined to comment.

Newest Model 3

The new dual-motor, all-wheel-drive performance version of the Model 3 will have a top speed of 155 miles per hour, a 310-mile range and acceleration from standstill to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds, Musk wrote.

The latest performance Model 3 will cost “about same as BMW M3, but 15% quicker & with better handling,” Musk tweeted. The car “will beat anything in its class on the track,” he said. It will also be available with black and white interiors. According to BMW’s website, a BMW M3 sedan has a starting manufacturer’s suggested retail price of about $66,500.

The pricey version of the Model 3 is in keeping with Musk’s earlier practices with the Model S luxury sedan and Model X sport utility vehicle -- adding options and higher specifications to help generate cash that can be used to eventually build vehicles for mainstream buyers.

Burning Cash

The company burned through more than $1 billion of cash in the first quarter and may need to tap capital markets for more than $10 billion by 2020 to fund its car-making operations, new products and expected expansion into China, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts said last week. Mounting liquidity pressures and challenges with Model 3 production prompted Moody’s Investors Service to cut the carmaker’s credit rating further into junk status in March, adding fuel to a sell off of the company’s bonds to all-time lows.

For every additional thousand dollars that ends up being added to the price of Model 3, the size of the U.S. auto market that buys cars that are that expensive shrinks by 1 percent to 2 percent, according to Kelley Blue Book. That’s a trade off the company is willing to make.

The profit is in the higher trims, Ivan Drury, senior manager of industry analysis at Edmunds.com, said by phone. “The idea that it’s supposed to be a car for everyone is kind of laughable,” Drury said. “Anyone who wanted a base model may have to wait years out.”

— With assistance by Dana Hull