There is no way to sugar coat it or paint a rosy picture. This week could be disastrous for the market. Coming off eight straight down trading days, and the largest weekly percentage drop in the history of the Dow, the economic calendar provides no relief.
There’s a merger boom going on right now, but amid all the gloom, no one’s really paying much attention.
Deere Misses Estimates; Genentech Rejects Roche Bid; Crude Rises on Inventory Report; China Fire & Security an Earnings Inferno; Joining Forces to Battle Insider Trading; Best Buy’s Coup; Merrill Slashes Wall St. Ratings; Ford’s European Makeover
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.
As investors plowed into financial and housing stocks in the last few years, they forgot about the pharmaceutical industry, says Jim Nelson in Penny Sleuth.
But now that the party is over, biotech stocks are coming back in a big way. According to mutual-fund research firm Lipper, two biotech funds were amongst the top five best-performing vehicles in July – a dramatic reversal from June when commodities funds were leading the charge.
Big Pharma is buying up promising biotech companies in an effort to boost profit margins. This creates great opportunities for investors, and it’ only just the beginning…
A hectic week on the economic calendar is highlighted by the initial look at second quarter gross domestic product (GDP). Remember, a recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth, so doomsayers have targeted this week’s release as confirmation of their pessimism.
Swiss drug company Roche (OTC:RHHBY) may not get its hands on San Francisco-based biotech outfit Genenetech (NYSE:DNA) as quickly as it had hoped.
Genetech has formed a special committee of independent directors to evaluate the $89-a-share acquisition offer from Roche, which already owns 56 percent of the US biotech firm.
If the deal does go through it may be bad news for Roche and Genentech shareholders, according to Phase 1 Investor editor Rob Fannon in The Growth Stock Wire. But it would be good news for the biotech industry as a whole…
While I believe the bid is a bad move for Roche – and not a great proposal for Genentech shareholders – this mega-deal is actually good for the entire biotech industry… and its investors.
With Genentech…
Roche Holding Ltd. (OTC ADR: RHHBY) yesterday (Monday) announced a $43.7 billion offer for the 44% of Genentech Inc. (DNA) it doesn’t already own.
Here’s a quick heads up from Christian Hill at Investor’s Daily Edge on economic and earnings data due this week…
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.