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Generic drug and biotech firms scored two of the top three gains among industries this past week. Super regional banks, led by BB&T ( BBT ), SunTrust Banks ( STI ), Northern Trust ( NTRS ) and Fifth Third Bancorp ( FITB ), was the other fast-rising group. The biotech group rose 6% for the week. The gain was disproportionately influenced by some thinly-traded names, particularly Amphastar ( AMPH ), a maker of injectable and inhalable drugs. It surged 16% on the week. Emergent BioSolutions ( EBS ) popped 6% for the week, putting it at a new high and in buy range above a 41.06 buy point in a double-bottom-with-handle base. Emergent’s bread-and-butter product BioThrax is an anthrax vaccine. Emergent is also planning to spin off its Aptevo Therapeutics subsidiary, which has a prostate cancer treatment in clinical trials, later this year. Analysts project a 3% earnings decline this year, followed by a 73% rebound in 2017. Another potential group leader is IBD 50 stock Medivation ( MDVN ). Owner of the prostate cancer treatment Xtandi, Medivation shares are up 24% since clearing a 48.87 buy point in April. Investors who opted out of that back-and-forth breakout could look at the chart as a 14-month cup pattern, which puts shares just below a 63.04 handle buy point. Medivation is under uncertain pressure from France’s pharma giant Sanofi ( SNY ), which is reportedly gearing up for a board battle after Medivation declined the company’s $9.3 billion takeover offer last month. Analysts consensus plots a 31% EPS gain this year, rising 63% in 2017. Sales are expected to slip 1% in 2016, rebounding to a 26% gain next year. One other biotech worth mentioning is Incyte ( INCY ). The Delaware-based specialist in blood cancer treatments is up since April 1, but needs more work on building the right side of a potential new base. Its Relative Strength Rating is sickly and the stock remains deep below its 40-week moving average. But analysts project a 222% revenue gain this year, partly due to its acquisition of the European operations of Ariad Pharmaceuticals, set to close in June, followed by sharp rebound to profitability next year. Among generic drug makers, Allergan ( AGN ) and Akorn ( AKRX ) show some of the more telling chart action in the group. Allergan rose almost 3%, to just below its 10-week moving average, a line that has acted as a ceiling for the stock since early January. Akorn retook its 10-week line the previous week, then quickly advanced to push through resistance at its 40-week line. Allergan has no possible buy point in sight, and Akorn needs time if its current consolidation is to become a base. The RS ratings for both stocks are dismal, but their fundamentals remain sound, and an upturn in institutional investor for the stocks would count as a positive for the market. Beyond the drug trade, banks also posted a strong week, buoyed by rising indications that the Federal Reserve is leaning toward a rate hike in June. Investment banks also took strength from JPMorgan Chase ’s ( JPM ) announcement on Tuesday that it would lift its dividend by 9%. SunTrust, Northern Trust and Fifth Third have all technically formed cup-with-handle patterns. SunTrust and Northern Trust show the strongest Relative Strength Ratings, and the handles of their base patterns have formed above 10-week support. One other factor to note: All four banks show Accumulation/Distribution Ratings of B- or better, suggesting they are seeing strong buying interest from institutional investors. Scalper1 News
Scalper1 News