Monday, January 08, 2007

Biotech Indices Mixed as AMEX Gains, Nasdaq Slips

by H.S. Ayoub
BioHealth Investor.com



The major biotech indices were mixed on Monday.

The AMEX Biotechnology Index (^BTK) gained more than 3 points, ending trading at $761.54, while the Nasdaq Biotech Index (^NBI) slipped slightly to $806.75.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX), a component of both indices, gained more than 13% on the day after the company announced that its fourth quarter preliminary revenue total of $100 million exceeded analyst expecations. While total revenue for the quarter was 10% lower than that of 2005, it still beat the consensus of $99.5 million. The company will release the final financials on February 7.

Seattle Genetics (SGEN) jumped almost 25% as the company announced it had entered into a licensing agreement with biotech giant Genentech (DNA) to develop and commercialize the monoclonal antibody SGN-40 for the treatment of multiple myeloma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (BCRX) lost more than 10% as the company announced it had appointed John Stonehouse to replace the company's former CEO Dr.Charles Bugg who retired.

BioVeris Corp. (BIOV) dropped 11% after the company announced it will initiate an audit of its licensing deal with Roche Diagnostics Corp. The move was motivated by a milestone payment of $2.8 million by Roche which BioVeris believes does not satisfy the terms of the deal.

____________________

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home

Finance Blogs - Blog Top Sites Day-Traderz Finance Directory blog search directory
Finance Blogs - Blog FlareBlog Directory & Search engine RankingBlogs.com :: Defining Your Blogs Worth: TopSites:
Blog Flux Pinger - reliable ping service.Directory of Investing BlogsBlogarama - The Blog Directory
Blog Directory
Bloggeries Blog Directory Business
Powered by WebRing.