When Arena Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ARNA) released positive Phase III data on its obesity drug, Lorcaserin, many people expected shares to take off. After all, the company’s press release on Monday confirmed that the drug had proven to be safe and effective.

There is a full economic calendar this week, but all eyes will be on the two-day FOMC meeting and the rate decision on Wednesday.

It will be interesting to see how the FOMC approaches this meeting. The current Fed Funds target rate is 0-0.25%, which in and of itself is rather strange. It is a moving target, not a fixed rate. Who determines which rate is used? My guess is this meeting will be used to clarify what the rate is. The Fed will either officially reduce it to 0% in a continued effort to resuscitate the economy, or lock it in at 0.25%. This would at least leave the Fed with one perceived bullet in the gun.

The rest of the…

Marc Lichtenfeld at The Smart Profits Report says he’s found an “immense” investment opportunity in a small-cap biotech firm.

There are three entry points in biotech stocks. They are: The first stages of research for a new drug; the initial human trial phases; and immediately before the drug is FDA approved. The later the entry point, the safer the investment.

The stock Marc has his eye on is a late-stage company. It is finishing Phase III trials for a unique cancer treatment drug which, if successful, will corner an entire market.

There has been a lot of strong recommendations around biotech lately on Contrarian Profits.

Phase 1 Investor editor Rob Fannon recently wrote that biotech was one of the few market sectors to show positive returns as  many other stocks were getting hammered. He sees great values in the sector.

There’s a good reason for this strength. A struggling economy won’t hurt biotech and medical as much as, say, an automaker, retailer, or restaurant chain… And biotech is one of the few industries showing solid sales growth.

Last May, shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN), a billion-dollar biotech, slid 35% in just 30 days. The company had no press releases, no earnings reports, nothing.