I only recently received the investor packet for QLT. They seem to be
the industry leader in their area of photodynamic therapy. Their
main product Photophrin is a first generation product. It allegedly
works fairly well but it has a long half life and therefore has a side effect profile that reflects that, namely, prolonged sun sensitivity for weeks. I am more interested in their second generation product,
which is being used to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD),
and which I believe has a much shorter half life. I can't really comment on the upside potential of the stock, since I dont really know
the stock that well, but it appears to be depressed, like other stocks
in the group.
The other company in the group that I follow is Pharmacyclics (PCYC),
and I would refer you to the PCYC thread in this web site.
The stock price is definitely depressed, and I am basing this on three
things:
1) a secondary offering had been announced at over $17 a share
(unfortunately wasnt carried out due to general market weakness)
2) The whole market cap of the company is just over $100 m, which is
very cheap for a biotech concern that has three clinical products,
one of which is approved by the FDA
3) an insider just bought 25,000 shares at $ 13 1/4, bringing his
total to 100,000 shares. This is an extremely positive sign, since
I assume that my money represents the "dumb" money and that insiders
always know more than I do. since I dont have any inside knowledge
of operations at the company, I am comforted that someone who does
know what is going on just bought 25,000 shares.
I can't explain the recent weakness in PCYC share price. My own buy-in
price was $13 1/4 and today it traded 10 1/2 to 11 1/4 but I am am
hoping it will recover soon.
Doug |
