One Coming, One Going: Inovio (INO) & ADVENTRX (ANX) Headed in Different Directions?

If there's one thing traders can count on from the biotech sector, it's that it's always interesting. If there are two things traders can count in from the biotech sector, it's that (1) it's always interesting because (2) other traders are quick to change their mind. No two stocks have been more affected by this reality today than ADVENTRX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMEX:ANX) and Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMEX:INO). If you're looking for some quick action and don't care which way you trade, you may want to take a quick look at ANX and INO

First and foremost, kudos to James Brumley for nailing it on the head with Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. back on January 23rd. Though his outlook for the stock was longer-term in nature, he accurately pointed out that a surge that particular day had all the makings of a big bullish move. Sure enough, INO busted out, soaring from $0.50 then to today's price of $0.89. That's a 78% pop in a little over a week.

It's also a little more gain than INO is apt to hold onto, at least in the near-term.

Yes, the stock looks like it's going ballistic. And truthfully, it is. The last several months haven't mustered a lot of follow-through for biotech stocks though. Rather, these breakouts have lured the majority of the chasers in at the exact wrong time ...right at a top when things looked bulletproof. Could Inovio Pharmaceuticals be following in those same footsteps? Given that volume spikes have been linked to bearish pivots of late, one has to wonder.

The Inovio Pharmaceuticals chart is in strong contrast to that of ADVENTRX Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which appears to be at the onset of a rally rather than the upper limit of one.

ANX had nothing less than a disastrous 2011. Bad news on the drug development front - the FDA gave its lung cancer drug a thumbs down in August - sent the stock from $2.54 to $1.06 in one day. Then it sunk further. The last few days, however, have been dramatically different for ADVENTRX Pharmaceuticals... for the better. After a ten-week consolidation phase between $0.56 and $0.66, ANX has finally perked up, moving to $0.72 today, and crossing above the 20-day and 50-day averages in the meantime.

Better still, the bullish move has been made on very strong volume. In fact, it's the most bullish volume we've seen from ANX since September; clearly something has changed in investors' eyes. And even if it's not an earth-shattering change, after a catastrophic tumble last year, this small bullish nudge has put enough gas in the tank to make it a decent short-term trade.