24/7 Wall St. » KOOL

Stem Cell Stocks Rise, Led By Athersys Inc. (ATHX, NBS, STEM)

247wallst — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:33:10 +0000

Stem cell stocks (tracked in Tickerspy’s Stem Cell Stock’s Index (*RXSTM) are up over 7% today, led by Athersys Inc (NASDAQ: ATHX). Athersys Inc. rose as high as 395% this morning following news that the company has entered into a deal with Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) to develop Athersys’s MultiStem, an experimental treatment for inflammatory bowel disease. Athersys recieved an intial payment of $6 million in addition to funding for research. Should the program be successful Athersys will recieved as much as $105 million as well as royalties from sales of the drug should it come to mark.

Other stem cell stocks received a big boost from the news. Neostem Inc. (AMEX: NBS), which operates a operates a center for the collection and storage of stem cell, rose as high as 7.6%. StemCells Inc. (NASDAQ: STEM), which attempts to treat organ disorders with stem cells, climbed as high as 7.2%

Garrett W. McIntyre

Posted in Biotech, Pharmaceuticals Tagged: ASTM, ATHX, CUR, CYTX, GERN, KOOL, NBS, OPXA, OSIR, PFE, PSTI, STEM, stem cells

Stem Cell Stocks Take Off (ASTM, GERN, OPXA, STEM)

247wallst — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:35:44 +0000

Tickerspy’s Stem Cell Stock Index (*RSXTM) took off today, rising nearly 13%. The movement followed a release from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announcing that 13 embryonic stem cell lines were approved for funding.

Opexa Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: OPXA) led the rise in stem cell stocks, surging over 40%. The company seeks to develop treatments to major illnesses, such as multiple sclerosis and diabetes, through stem cell research. The company’s stock has risen 2837% off its lows for the year.

StemCells Inc (NASDAQ: STEM) rose over 30% to a high of $1.45. The company engages in research aimed at developing treatment for organ damage using stem cells. The company’s stock is up over 1544% off its low for the year.

Garrett W. McIntyre

Posted in Biotech Tagged: ASTM, CUR, CYTX, GERN, KOOL, OPXA, OSIR, PSTI, STEM, stem cells

Should You Chase Stem Cell Stocks? (ASTM, CYTX, GERN, NBS, OSIR, STEM, KOOL)

247wallst — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:29:36 +0000

We are seeing massive gap-ups this morning in stem cell stocks. President Obama is signing an executive order which will lift the Bush ban on funding of embryonic stem cell funding. What is interesting here is that this is not really new news other than the timing and the formality. The following prices are as of 8:19 AM EST.

Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTM) +87% at $0.62
Cytori Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CYTX) +38% at $3.20
Geron Corporation (NASDAQ: GERN) +29% at $4.99
Neostem, Inc. (AMEX: NBS) NOT TRADED
Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSIR) NOT TRADED…. in pact with Genzyme, but for adult stem cells.
StemCells Inc. (NASDAQ: STEM) +55% at $2.15
Thermogenesis Corp. (NASDAQ: KOOL) +41% at $0.57

Many of these stem cell stocks will trade more on a “vote of confidence” rather than over what this means as far as “new news” is concerned.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Biotech, Politics Tagged: ASTM, CYTX, GERN, KOOL, NBS, OSIR, STEM

The 52-Week Low Club (GNW)(UIS)(SRZ)(GGP)(KOOL)(DPTR)

247wallst — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 15:49:38 +0000

Genworth (GNW) DIvidend cut. Drops to $2.55 from 52-week high of $28.21.

Unisys (UIS) No news but falls over 30% to $.79 from 52-week high of $7.90.

Sunrise Assisted Living (SRZ) Large quarterly loss. Falls to $1.82 from 52-week high of $34.87.

General Growth (GGP) Analayst downgrade still hurting. Falls to $1.91 from 52-week high of $51.24.

THERMOGENESIS (KOOL) Product recall and quarterly loss. Falls to $.44 from 52-week high of $2.25.

Delta Petroleum (DPTR) Offer to buy company falls through. Stock off to $3.89 from 52-week high of $28.37.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted in HI/LOW Tagged: DPTR, GGP, GNW, KOOL, SRZ, UIS

Super Tuesday Election Winner: STEM CELLS (STEM, GERN, ASTM, IVGN, KOOL, NBS, OSIR)

247wallst — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 09:33:26 +0000

Despite not knowing whom the ultimate winner of the 2008 Presidential election will be, it looks like stem cells may be one of the real bright spots as far as which area in biotech will be open for more funding down the road. If the Democrats win this is a shoe in. If McCain wins, the current research clamp-downs won’t likely be as stringent in 2009 and beyond as they are today. If Romney stages a comeback, despite many thinking of him as a religious figure our indications are that he at worst would not be anywhere as tough on the stem cell studies as the current administration. Public companies such as StemCells Inc. (NASDAQ: STEM), Geron Corporation (NASDAQ: GERN), Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTM), and others are going to be watching closely.

If you look at Tradesports.com for the political futures, you can see the Presidential nominee futures right now if you want to make a determination where the actual money bets are going right now. McCain is priced at $93.00 and Romney is now priced at $1.90, so this would indicate a 92.9% probability of a McCain nomination. The Democrat race is much closer right now with Tradesports showing a Hillary Clinton nomination with a $54.60 price (down $8.40), and Obama with a $47.40 price (up $8.90). So the futures are showing a McCain essentially as a shoe-in now, yet the Democrat race is still too close to call. Guess what, this would be a win-win for stem cell research beyond this year.

Last June (boy, these guys have been running forever already) both Clinton and Obama criticized Bush’s stem cell veto. There you can see a link to each comment from either candidate.

StemCells Inc. (NASDAQ: STEM) shares have surged some 20% in the lasttwo trading days, and shares are some 40% under its 52-week highs.Geron Corporation (NASDAQ: GERN) shares are basically flat over thelast two days and are almost 50% under 52-week highs. AastromBiosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTM) shares are up over 20% in recentsessions with shares off more than 50% from their 52-week highs. Thereare some other stocks that have stem cell exposure as well:

Invitrogen Corp. (NASDAQ: IVGN) also has a broader stem cellmonitor kit for analyzing the state of human embryonic stem cells,although this is a much larger company and its shares are up some 3%after earnings.
Osiris Therapeutics (NASDAQ: OSIR) also has an FDA fast track designation for its stem cell treatment PROCHYMAL for the highly debilitating Crohn’s Disease.
Two smaller plays here are Thermogenesis (NASDAQ: KOOL) and the OTC stock Cryo-Cell International (OTCBB: CCEL).
There is also a smaller AMEX listed company called NeoStem Inc.(AMEX: NBS) that just yesterday announced a New York state license forADULT Stem Cell collection, so this one may have an implied ‘less controversial stance’ to it.

Obviously this is a controversial area for many, and there are manyarguments on both sides that have merit. This is the Wall Street angleto a controversial situation.

Jon C. Ogg
February 6, 2008