A little up and a little down, then the market closed on Friday pretty much where it started. It wasn't a lazy Friday for a handful of small caps though. Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (SPPI), Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (CTIC), Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (ACLS), ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ISTA) all made waves, at least with news, and some with big moves. Let's take a look at each and see if any of it matters.
Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (SPPI)
Mark July 2nd on your calendar. Why? That's the date that the FDA is supposed to make a decision on Spectrum's cancer (lymphoma) treatment Zevalin as a first-line therapy; it's now only approved for cancer patients who don't respond well to other treatments for NHL.
Judging from today's 11% gain, the market seems to be inspired... inspiration that came despite a $10 million fund raising last week, and a $20 million fund raising in May.
I'm not sure if I'm a fan of following an overbought stock that just got more overbought today, but the company's actually got a lot going in its favor. Aside from Zevalin's potential approval, it's got a Phase III prostate cancer treatment in the pipeline as well.
Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (CTIC)
It's back. I can always count on Cell Therapeutics coming back onto my plate... the chatter and pumpers are just too persistent.
There was no news today to prompt the buying (up 18); the only recent news was from Wednesday, when the company announced they'd filed a priority review request for Pixantrone's approval.
But wait a minute... wasn't an approval supposed to be just around the corner? That was the reason for the move from $0.35 to June's high of $2.23, wasn't it? Yep, it was.
I don't work for the FDA, so I'm not completely in tune with how things work. But, wouldn't the FDA at least have to have the request in their hands before we could even say something like "it will be soon"?
More smoke and mirrors from a company that's gotten quite good at it.
Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (ACLS)
This isn't our first look at Axcelis either. The semiconductor equipment maker went off like a roman candle on Monday when a deal with Applied Materials was announced.
I guess the lesson to be learned here is not to announce partnerships with Applied Materials. After peaking at $0.61 on Monday, it closed at $0.51 that same day, and ended the week at $0.40. Ouch.
What happened to prompt today's huge volume selloff? It was kicked out of the Russell 3000, and all those index portfolios had to be readjusted.
Big mistake, in my opinion. I understand the selling pressure, but a 20% dip? It's still the same company, in our out of the Russell 3000. (Trust me, being in an index doesn't make you any more attractive.)
Shares were up 10% in after hours trading, for a few lucky/savvy bargain shoppers.
ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ISTA)
Here's a new one. ISTA was up nearly 10% today (yet down in after hours trade) after the company's Bepreve eye-itch drug won 'support' from an FDA panel. That's not approval yet, but it's a good sign.
I like the opportunity, particularly knowing ISTA's got some more things in the pipeline (like Phase II Bromfenac). I just don't like the chart. From here I'd wait for a pullback
But will we see a dip to use as an entry? I think so; I sense a little "buy the rumor, sell the news" action on the way. We may even revisit somewhere around $3.00. The bulls are starting to come out of the woodwork though, meaning any dip is apt to be temporary.
