12:45pm (EST)
The market is off to a good start as the bulls came out in a buying mood. The Dow is up 35 points to 9,476 but is off its highest levels of the day.
There are a few BioTech stocks that are trading higher today.
Facet Biotech (FACT, $16.12, up $0.74) is up 5% after it rejected Biogen Idec’s (BIIB, $51.32, up $0.31) offering of $14.50 a share. Facet said the $370 million buyout offer places no value on the operating and other assets of the company. Shares nearly doubled on Friday, rising from $8.82 to a high of $15.92. The stock has traded as low as $6 and as high as $50 over the past year.
Biogen went “hostile” with the offer on Friday after an initial offer of $15 per share back in August. The two companies have jointly worked together on drugs for multiple sclerosis and a treatment for tumors.
Opexa Therapeutics (OPXA, $3.82, up $2.29) is soaring, up 150% on news that its drug, Tovaxin, provided better-than-expected results in a mid-stage study of 150 patients with multiple sclerosis. There are no options on this stock but the shares opened at $2.33 this morning…
I was thisclose to profiling a Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ, $10.39, up $1.12) trade this morning after noticing the action in the stock from Friday. There was no real news for the jump from $7 to $9 but volume was heavy as 12 million shares traded. The September 10 calls (JWQIB, $1.25, up $0.40) are up over 50% today after opening at 60 cents. These options expire in 10 days. This trade is probably too late to get in but the action from Friday was telling me something.
Campbell Soup (CPB, $32.33, up $1.14) has broken through resistance of $31.75 and I profiled a possible trade in the Members Area this morning that has nearly doubled from this morning. If you got in right after the open set stops to protect your profits or close the trade by the end of the day. Anytime you make 75%-100% in a few hours, take Steve Miller’s advice…go on take the money and run. If you owned the stock and sold the call options for the premium then you also did well.











Market Mixed On Inventory Report
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
1:05pm (EST)
The bulls continue to march towards new highs although the Dow has faded at the halfway point. We finally got some economic news which is being digested as both good and bad.
The Commerce Department said wholesale inventories fell 0.2% in January after falling 1% in December. However, companies’ sales rose 1.3%, the 10th straight gain. Look. We knew companies are returning to the lean and mean days and instead of having an overstock of goods they are simply managing their inventories better. The fact that sales rose is the silver lining in this report. After all, if sales pick up, that would likely force businesses to restock inventories.
As a result, the Dow is down 21 points to 10,543 after trading to a high of 10,601. The S&P 500 is up 2 points to 1,142 while the Nasdaq has climbed another 11 points to 2,351.
Things pick up on Thursday and Friday as we get numbers on the weekly jobless claims, retail sales and consumer sentiment.
One sector that continues to be white-hot is Biotech as new drugs and M&A continue to drive the sector higher.
InterMune (ITMN, $38.36, up $15.06) is up a whopping 65% after a federal advisory panel voted in favor of approval for its experimental lung disease treatment. The March 30 calls (IQY100320C00030000, $8.50, up $6.35) are a sizzling 300%…
Elsewhere, Facet Biotech (FACT, $27.00, up $10.29) is also up over 65% after getting a bid from Abbott Laboratories (ABT, $55.17, up $0.37) for $450 million which equates to $27 a share.
The action is also HOT in our Members Area so let’s get to it. Current subscribers, check for the updates.
Tags: Facet Biotech, FACT, Intermune, itmn, option picks, option signals, options alerts, stock options trading
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