In recent days, biotech stocks have slowed their early-August sprint. Now, the industry group is taking a breather near its 50-day moving average.
But not all biotech stocks are ready to hit the showers. According to MarketSmith.com, 118 stocks across all industry groups have hit 52-week highs over the last week. Of those, 15 were biotech stocks. The list includes companies that touched their high points from Aug. 22-26. The best biotech moves came from companies with recent regulatory news like Axsome Therapeutics.
Often, big clinical readouts have the ability to shake the entire industry group. Recently, the data have been mostly positive, says Nina Deka, a senior research analyst for Robo Global. The firm researches robotics, artificial intelligence and health care technologies.
In early 2021, health care stocks began a long skid, Deka says.
"A lot of the stocks in this space move on upcoming catalysts, like data readouts," she told Investor's Business Daily. "Those (studies) are largely still happening. When they do announce good data, you get an amplified effect on a positive catalyst on a stock because it was oversold."
Biotech Stocks: Small Gains
Most of the biotech stocks didn't have to go far to hit a 52-week high.
Of the 15 that did so last week, 11 rose by a single-digit percentage from the prior week to nab a fresh record. Just four had a double-digit gain over the week, culminating in a one-year high, which shows how hot the group of biotech stocks has been of late.
Axsome gained after the Food and Drug Administration approved its new depression pill, Auvelity. It's the first oral treatment for major depressive disorder over the last 60 years that uses a new mechanism to gain approval. The biotech stock touched 71.98 on Friday before closing down 4%.
Meanwhile, Sarepta Therapeutics hit a 52-week high at 116.91 on Thursday. Excitement is growing for the company's gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, dubbed SRPT-001. Earlier this month, RBC Capital Markets analyst Brian Abrahams raised his price target on the biotech stock to 182 from 160.
After a meeting with Sarepta executives "We came away more convinced about the realistic possibility of accelerated approval for SRPT-9001 before or after the Phase 3 readout, the medium-term revenue opportunity for the gene therapy and the durability of their (technological platform) as a valuation platform," he said in a note to clients.
Abrahams has an outperform rating on the biotech stock.
Shares Dip Slightly
The entire industry group of more than 800 biotech stocks has sloughed off somewhat since Aug. 15. Still, there are strong contenders to watch. Of those that recently hit 52-week highs, all have Relative Strength Ratings of at least 93. This puts their stock performance over the last 12 months in the top 7% of all stocks, according to IBD Digital.
Six have perfect RS Ratings of 99.
This group includes Axsome, Prometheus Biosciences, Altimmune, Immunocore, Tricida and Catalyst Pharma.
Recent Highs Among Biotech Stocks
| Company | Ticker | 52-week high |
|---|---|---|
| Argenx | ARGX | 403.77 |
| Axsome Therapeutics | AXSM | 71.98 |
| Vaxcyte | PCVX | 28 |
| Amicus Therapeutics | FOLD | 12.96 |
| Gossamer Bio | GOSS | 15.20 |
| Relmada Therapeutics | RLMD | 33.82 |
| Prometheus Bio | RXDX | 53.65 |
| Sarepta Therapeutics | SRPT | 116.91 |
| Altimmune | ALT | 19.62 |
| Immunocore | IMCR | 56.90 |
| Chinook Therapeutics | KDNY | 23 |
| Aveo Pharmaceuticals | AVEO | 9.37 |
| Tricida | TCDA | 13.85 |
| Catalyst Pharma | CPRX | 15.07 |
| Supernus Pharmaceuticals | SUPN | 36.08 |
Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.
