Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) was up the most of all networking stocks this year, so it can’t be too shocking to see it whacked yet again.  Shares are down over 12% at $3.11.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) is no surprise and the news is AIG and the bank’s risks to future suits etc… Shares are down 9.3% at $7.42.

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (AMEX: LNG) is one of the still very speculative players and the precipitous drop in nat-gas is not helping a leveraged player today.  Shares are down a whopping 18% at $6.40.

Crude Carriers Corp. (NYSE: CRU) is following is big leg down from Friday and shares are down 15% at $7.01.

DR Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI) is down 5.1% at $9.87 and the 52-week low is $9.73. When credit gets tighter, how great is it for homebuilders in an already-weak market?  Ditto for all of its peers.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is down for the risk to U.S. auto sales as the buyers who rely upon credit can easily put off car buying.  Ford is down 6.5% at $10.13… risk of double-digits again? That was a 52-week low today.  General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) is now down 5.5% at $24.86 and shares came within two cents of the post-IPO lows of $24.49 already today.

Freescale Semiconductor Inc. (NYSE: FSL) may be highly diversified, but that is not helping.  It was not exactly on the most solid footing when the IPO came about and shares are down another 9.5% at $10.73 after having hit a new 52-week low of $9.57.

Geron Corporation (NASDAQ: GERN) has no news as the leader in stem cell research, but StemCells Inc. (NASDAQ: STEM) is down almost 17% at $2.16.  Geron shares are down 9.5% at $2.68 today.

Imperial Sugar Co. (NASDAQ: IPSU) lost over half its value on Friday after management just lost all credibility with its discussion about a loss.  The company had just been out pitching its new “alternative sweetener model” rather than just sugar but the damage is extreme now.  Shares are down another 14% at $8.09.

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM) is suffering with the international growth scene now.  How many people need satellite phones if the purses get tightened too much?  Shares are down almost 7% at $7.38.

Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) is probably seeing a few less up-sales this week and shares are trading down 5.5% at $41.87 on the day.  That is still well above $the $28.44 low of the last year.

Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) is getting unusually punished due to the risks to auto sales being the first economic spot hit.  Who cares if Howard Stern is there or not on a day like today?  Shares are down 7% at $1.68.

Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) is down yet again and down another 7.8% at $3.43 in active trading.  We said the worst was not over there just last week and stick by that statement.  It will take a bull market to save Sprint.

VirnetX Holding Corporation (AMEX: VHC) is the patent player that sues companies for royalties. How relevant it is when its “patent partners” are getting whacked so hard is up to.  The market vote is that the model is not relevant as shares are down 15% at $18.71 this morning.  Keep in mind that the 52-week range is $5.65 to $41.77.  Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ: RMBS) is another “patent licensing operation” that is suffering, with shares down 8% at $10.64 and the stock hit a 52-week high of $10.15 today.

Another day of selling as the great flush continues… The good news is only that the bad news is bad enough and it has been bad enough that at some point you have to expect bargain buyers to surface.

JON C. OGG

Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOR) is down over 5.5% at $9.79 after the FDA said it needed more time to review its Supplemental New Drug Application for its Acthar decision for infantile spasms.

Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) is playing a 2% game of giveback today and shares are down at $40.99.  There has been some steady hope of a deal here on and off coming down the pipe, but the Medicare review period over reimbursements (a possible price shakedown) is a steady thorn in the side of PROVENGE in the fight against prostate cancer.

Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (NASDAQ: SVA) is trading up 7.5% at $4.30 on above average volume.  The company disclosed that there were THREE upcoming presentations:

• Morgan Stanley Global Healthcare Unplugged Conference, New York, scheduled for September 14 at 2:10 pm ET.
• Morgan Stanley China Global Healthcare Day, Boston, September 15 in one-on-meetings with investors.
• UBS Global Life Sciences Conference, New York, scheduled for Monday, September 20 at 10:00 AM ET.

Stem cells are back in vogue…. Geron Corporation (NASDAQ: GERN), StemCells Inc. (NASDAQ: STEM), Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTM), Cytori Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CYTX), Neostem, Inc. (AMEX: NBS), BioTime, Inc. (NASDAQ: BTIM) and Pluristem Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PSTI) are all trading higher on word that US District Court has lifted that ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cells.

VIVUS Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) is down 3.5% at $6.11 but it is on light trading volume.  Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OREX) is down 3.4% at $5.14 on thin volume, and this is the one that Takeda got on the map for a potential $1 billion obesity pill pact announced in recent weeks.  Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARNA) is also down 4% at $7.13 on fairly active trading volume.

Santarus Inc. (NASDAQ: SNTS) is up after it secured a license for a Type II diabetes drug for the exclusive manufacturing and commercial rights to Cycloset in the U.S. with S2 Therapeutics and VeroScience.  The company will pay an upfront $5 million fee and will then pay royalties to its partners from the Cycloset sales.  Santarus shares are trading up over 14% at $2.54 on about 10-times normal trading volume.

Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ: GENZ) is up today on hopes of a higher Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) bid, although this appears to be  on a false rumor.

There was a massive push for drug and biotech research calls today.  Stocks given new coverage, upgrades, and downgrades were Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NASDAQ: TEVA), Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN), Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACOR), Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG), Human Genome Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI), Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB), Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD), EXACT Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ: EXAS), ZymoGenetics Inc. (NASDAQ: ZGEN), Dyax Corp. (NASDAQ: DYAX), IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDXX), and ViroPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: VPHM) all have major research calls with a FULL RESEARCH SUMMARY WITH INDIVIDUAL CALLS HERE.

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JON C. OGG

This was a preliminary injunction by Judge Royce Lamberth in Washington, D.C. that stemmed from a case with two scientists challenging the Obama stem cell funding designed to catch back up and to expand federal support for stem cell research and this falls under the Dickey-Wicker Amendment.

Stem cells are still very controversial because of the moral and religious aspects.  Those who want stem cell research feel that the field holds cure to cancer, blindness, paralysis, organ replacement, and on and on.  This case will still have many steps along the way and ultimately this could end up being one of those cases that either tests the Constitution or that goes all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

According to the ruling, Congress did not make any specifications for exceptions.  The current funding approved is for embryonic stem cells which have been destroyed and is not in support of new lines.  Effectively, this would force stem cell research back under much of the same guidelines that had been in place under President Bush.

The current injunction does not appear to ban funding of stem cell research, but it keeps out the federal funding.  To show why this matters, the National Institutes of Health has invested nearly $400 million in human embryonic stem cell research in the last five years.  The current regulations before yesterday’s ruling had more than 70 human embryonic stem cell lines eligible and it covered stem cell lines that were derived from human embryos created from in vitro fertilization which are no longer needed.

Geron Corporation (NASDAQ: GERN) is down 5.4% at $4.75 versus a 52-week trading range of $4.37 to $7.51.  Geron recently received an FDA lifting of a clinical trial hold involving spinal cord injuries.

StemCells Inc. (NASDAQ: STEM) is down 7.25% at $0.79 and its shares hit a 52-week low of $0.76 this morning versus a high of $1.79.  This one recently had positive paralysis study data.

Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTM) is down 4% at $1.44 versus a 52-week range of $1.32 to $4.16.

Cytori Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CYTX) is down 4.8% at $4.52 and the 52-week range is $2.93 to $9.50.

Neostem, Inc. (AMEX: NBS) is down by 3.4% at $1.70 versus a 52-week trading range of $1.26 to $3.50.  As we have outlined before, NeoStem is actually tied to adult stem cells rather than embryonic stem cells.

BioTime, Inc. (NASDAQ: BTIM) is down 5.2% at $4.56 versus a 52-week range of $3.02 to $8.42.  BioTime recently noted that a peer reviewed Regenerative Medicine publication showed that the aging of human cells can be reversed.

It was just in late 2009 that the NIH announced the approval of the first 13 human embryonic stem cell lines for use in NIH-funded research under the NIH Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research adopted in July 2009.

This latest round of news is a preliminary injunction.  It is not a final ruling.  If this ruling were to stand, then stem cell research would be severely hindered in the U.S.  Again, this is a preliminary ruling and there are many steps which will come into play here before any final resolution comes to pass.

You can visit BioHealthInvestor.com for a full review of key developments and major news in STEM CELL research that goes back to 2008.

JON C. OGG

The Intel-McAfee deal already has the primary move taken care of, but the data-security peers are the ones to watch.  Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) is a very troubled company with data security and storage, and its shares are now up 12% at $14.18 in the pre-market trading.  Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP) is also up 5.4% at $36.14 in pre-market trading.

Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) is getting squeezed this morning and shares are down 6.8% at $4.79 on more than 600,000 shares.  This is worse than last night when Brocade went out in the after-hours session down 4.67% at $4.90 on 874,644 shares.

BSD Medical Corporation (NASDAQ: BSDM) is seeing a second day win after yesterday’s news of an FDA Approval that sent shares up about 100%. Shares are up another 6% at $3.15 on over 400,000 shares.

MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ: MNKD) is trading up almost 4% at $6.20 on about 200,000 shares after pricing $100 million in senior convertible notes amd entering into a share sale and share lending agreement.  The secondary sale was at $5.55 versus a close of $5.97 yesterday.

NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) is down 3.1% this morning from $39.32 to $38.09 in pre-market trading on active volume after earnings disappointed.

PetSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ: PETM) is trading up after earnings and strong guidance and after Goldman maintained a neutral rating but raised the price target. Shares are seeing thin volume but the first indication was up almost 7% at $32.23.  This one went out in the after-hours session last night up 7.2% at $32.33 on 144,000 shares.

StemCells Inc. (NASDAQ: STEM) is on the move after positive stem cell data in paralysis.  Shares are up 24% at $1.08 on over 550,000 shares.  Average volume is only 723,000 shares and a 52-week range of $0.84 to $1.79.

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JON C. OGG

We have tried to smooth out the non-news movers today to mainly focus on those moving on their own news rather than on news of peers.

Antigenics Inc. (NASDAQ: AGEN) is up today on an article out yesterday from Cleveland Live, although it was out yesterday morning so there could be additional chats out there.  Still, for a down-sector tape this one is solid with gains so far of 3.4% at $1.21 on over 3 million shares.  The 52-week range is $0.51 to $3.34 and the average volume is 1.2 million shares.

Array BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRY) is holding up very well after yesterday’s huge drug partnership gains. After a 33% gain yesterday, the stock is down “only” 4% at $3.86 on 1.8 million shares.

Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ: GENZ) is up after earnings with $0.37 EPS on a 6% drop in revenues to $1.07 billion versus estimates of $0.33 EPS and $1.14 billion in revenues.  Perhaps more importantly, Genzyme sees a $175 million consent decree disgorgement for its Allston plant woes.  That sounds bad, but some have felt that the Allston plant fines, woes, and remedies might cost much more than that.  Shares are up 1.75% at $54.53 on about 5.3 million shares.

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) is down sharply after its earnings were $0.99 EPS vs. $0.96 estimates and revenue rose 36% to $2.09 billion, but it lowered its 2010 sales outlook partly due to healthcare reform.  This has put a tilt on the whole sector today and probably kept a lid on some stocks which might have otherwise risen as this is the #2 biotech by market cap in America.  Shares are down a sharp 9.75% at $40.66 on over 57 million shares.  Gilead hit a new 52-week today now that its 52-week range is $39.90 to $50.00.

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) is again probably feeling lucky.  Yesterday’s near-$2 drop could have been far worse after its Benlysta secondary endpoint was not met.  Today, shares are trading down only 0.4% at $29.48 and the $29.28 low today is handily above the low yesterday of $27.72.

NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: NPSP) is down marginally after it closed that securities offering $53.3 million, which does include the over-allotment options being exercised.  Shares are trading down 1.4% at $6.39 on 650,000 shares.

QLT Inc. (NASDAQ: QLTI) is up again for a day-two run after yesterday’s news that all three of the patients enrolled in a Phase 1 study experienced clinically relevant improvements in one or more visual function parameters in inherited progressive retinal degenerative disease.  This actually hit a new 52-week high today.  Shares are trading up 4.7% at $6.45 on over 225,000 shares.  Average volume is only 155,000 shares and the new 52-week range is $1.93 to $6.48.

Raptor Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ: RPTP) is one which you might think is never talked about, but this stock was started in new analyst coverage with a ‘Buy’ rating at Ladenberg Thalmann.  Even after the gains, the market cap is a mere $37 million. This one is seeking cures and treatments for various brain disorders and neurodegenerative diseases, genetic disorders, and cancer with its own proprietary use of receptor-associated proteins and mesoderm development proteins.  Shares are up 17.7% at $1.66 on about 900,000 shares. This barely trades 50,000 on an average day and the 52-week trading range is $0.07 to $4.90.

StemCells, Inc. (NASDAQ: STEM) sounded like big news, although the stock reaction is not indicating that it is.  The company announced this morning that it plans to advance to a second clinical trial in Batten Disease with an increased emphasis on the measurement of clinical benefit rather than just a safety profile.  Shares are up almost 1% at $1.18 on 1.4 million shares.  The average volume is only 1.3 million shares and the 52-week range is $1.02 to $1.94.

Biotech HOLDRs (NYSE: BBH) appears to have tested its 200-day moving averages after Gilead reported, and Gilead makes up almost 28% of this ETF.  The Biotech HOLDRs is trading down 4.15% at $98.45.  The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology (NASDAQ: IBB) ETF is down 2% at $90.35 on over 1.5 million shares, about 250% of normal volume.

PowerShares Dynamic Biotech & Genome (NYSE: PBE) is down today, but it continues to challenge the brain at a time when so many components in its holdings are not at highs. This hit a 52-week of $20.06 early this morning, but shares are now trading down about 1% at $19.83 on only about 26,000 shares.  This one keeps mysteriously hitting 52-week highs.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about dividend trends, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

We have included the moves as they have been seen in late-morning trading as well the news and a link to more data on each were applicable if these were more broad stories.

Abraxis BioScience, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABII) is scoring a win in the war against lung cancer.  Its ABRAXANE showed high promise in combination with existing treatments for lung cancer in key Phase III  studies.  In late-morning trade, Abraxis is up over 28% at $21.18 and it hit a high of $54.03 today.  We have already seen 5-times normal volume.

StemCells Inc. (NASDAQ: STEM) is up on news of a rat model patent award in the UK.  This is apparently a novel stem cell patent despite the animal model.  Shares are up 2.5% at $1.24 and we have already seen almost 2 million shares trade versus a 2.1 million share average day.

Xenoport, Inc. (NASDAQ: XNPT) is up 4.5% at $9.57 on no real news seen.  Xenoport is the one that was clocked last month after failing to win FDA support of its restless leg syndrome and after half of its workforce was forced into national employee morale day for layoffs.  Still, if news is out we haven’t seen it today.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: LXRX) took a beating of almost 10% to close at $1.28 yesterday due to its large securities offering.  Shares have recouped over 2% of that today and the stock is at $1.31 on already 150% of normal trading volume.

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

Geron Corporation (NASDAQ: GERN), StemCells Inc. (NASDAQ: STEM), and Opexa Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPXA) are all giving back a portion of yesterday’s enormous gains.

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) is down only 1% despite selling even more shares in its secondary offering.

DryShips, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) is up over 4% on the analyst upgrade this morning.

Ambac Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: ABK) is soaring on a S&P upgrade, enough that it is lifting MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBI).

Targacept, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRGT) is up less and on lighter volume than the headlines of its AstraZeneca pact might sound like.

You can join our open email distribution list to hear more news on key analyst calls, top day trader alerts, mergers and acquisitions, Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

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

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: BMRN) is seeing exponential trading volume in stock and options after a 10% rise today.

Dynavax Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: DVAX) is up over 50%after the FDA removed a clinical hold on its hepatitis treatment.

The fight over the Sepracor, Inc. (NASDAQ: SEPR) acquisition has now gone to the level of a class action status.  We noted the very low P/E and multiple valuations yesterday on this one.

StemCells, Inc. (NASDAQ: STEM) traded slightly higher on word that it will soon begin a study with the University of California, San Francisco Children’s Hospital using purified human neural stem cells as a possible treatment for Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease.

Pharmacyclics Inc. (NASDAQ: PCYC) was trading up on news that its right offering is oversubscribed.

Oculus Innovative Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: OCLS) is trading higher on report that it has been assigned a Medicare HCPCS code for its recently introduced Microcyn Skin & Wound HydroGel.

JON C. OGG
SEPTEMBER 10, 2009