BST Position Update: January 4, 2013
January 4, 2013
. . . . Trius Therapeutics (NASDAQ: TSRX) – Hold
In our last update, we urged you to view the pullback in TSRX as a buying opportunity. We believed then, as we do now, that investors would push the stock higher ahead of the upcoming phase 3 trial results for tedizolid phosphate.
But we didn’t realize a rally would happen so quickly.
TSRX has surged 6% in just the past five trading days. And the stock has moved back above our maximum buy price. Investors are buying biotech stocks again after the US government’s temporary resolution of the fiscal cliff crisis.
We believe this is just the beginning of a larger rally.
However, with TSRX now trading above our buy range, we’re moving it from Buy to Hold. If you own these shares, continue holding for more upside.
. . . . Opko Health (NYSE: OPK) – Hold
OPK is moving higher in a strong uptrend. Over the past four weeks, the stock has gained more than 16%. And today, it set a new 52-week high of $5.07.
Best of all, the move has given us a 19% gain on the position.
It looks like investors are buying shares in anticipation of the trial results for Opko’s diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s. We were expecting the results by the end of 2012, but they haven’t yet been released. And the company has not said when the results will be provided.
However, the recent rally suggests many believe the results are coming soon.
The good news is the uncertainty is clearly not having a negative effect on the stock. Investors continue to buy shares and drive OPK higher and higher.
With the shares now trading above our maximum buy price, we’re moving OPK from Buy to Hold. Hang on to your shares for greater gains.
. . . . Oncolytics Biotech (NASDAQ: ONCY) – Hold
ONCY continues to push higher in a steep uptrend.
Ever since this biotech reported positive trial results on December 13th, its stock has been surging. The results were from a phase 3 trial of Reolysin in head and neck cancer patients.
And yesterday, the shares set a new high for us of $4.21. That gave us a solid 20% gain on the position.
Not too shabby!
Let’s keep riding this rally for all its worth. Continue holding ONCY for bigger profits.
. . . . Novavax (NASDAQ: NVAX) – Hold
NVAX has performed well of late. After pulling back to just below the 200-day moving average in mid-November, the stock has made its way higher in a nice uptrend.
The shares have now gained 16% in just a month and a half.
It looks like investors are snapping up shares ahead of upcoming trial results. NVAX is expected to release top-line results from a phase 2 trial of its vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in the first quarter of 2013.
RSV is the most common cause of childhood respiratory infections around the world. There are 64 million cases and approximately 160,000 deaths from the disease every year.
Currently, there is no approved RSV prophylactic vaccine available.
The phase 2 trial involves administering the vaccine to 330 women of childbearing age.
Immunizing the mother is a widely practiced strategy for protecting infants from a wide variety of diseases. It can lead to heightened antibodies in infants which then protect them against the targeted disease.
The purpose of the study is to find the proper dosage level to use in future trials.
Good results would be further validation of Novavax’s proprietary recombinant vaccine technology. And it would be an important step toward their end goal of grabbing a piece of the $27 billion global vaccine market.
With NVAX moving in the right direction, let’s continue holding the shares to capture more upside.
Action To Take
- Move Trius Therapeutics (NASDAQ: TSRX) from Buy to Hold.
- Move Opko Health (NYSE: OPK) from Buy to Hold.
Category: BST Update