As recently as 1999, an analyst from a WS firm described Biogen as having one of the, if not the, deepest pipelines in the industry. That's not just a broad but also a bold statement, considering the comparative set would obviously include dna and amgn! Although any small investor could have gone to the 10-k and wondered what they were talking about, in the end they would have likely been persuaded by the recommender's aura of breathlessness, sophistication and status. It's a shame that happens sometimes.
In fairness to analysts and ourselves, it seems to me to be a human truism that--in biotechnology in particular--by the time you feel comfortable recommending a stock to someone it has almost always lost its valuation advantage.
With Biogen and BCHE, at these prices, one could do a lot worse. Still, there is just not the same tension as when buying the stock of companies that might as well report Proceeds From Sale of Common Stock as gross revenue and expense the whole amount immediately.
That's my problem...I know better, but can't help myself.
--Wilder |
