Aurora Biosciences down amid sector-wide stumble
--From AOL News yesterday.-- Cooters
LOS ANGELES, March 7 (Reuters) - Shares of Aurora Biosciences Corp. <ABSC.O> fell on Tuesday amid profit-taking in several stocks in the recently strong genomics sector and the resignation of a key Aurora scientist.
The San Diego-based company's shares were down 9-11/16 at at 92 and were as low as 67-3/8 in early trading.
Genomics is the study of gene structure and function with the aim of developing pharmaceuticals.
"I suspect (Aurora) it is just down on profit-taking," said Stuart Collinson, Aurora's chief executive. He said he remained comfortable with Wall Street's earnings estimates for the company, including expectations that Aurora will become profitable later this year.
"We are seeing a general sell-off in genomics on the heels of some industry conferences," said Michael King, an analyst at Robertson Stephens.
Aurora's stock has a 52-week low of 4-7/8 and a 52-week high of 98.
The company combines biology with high-technology systems that screen chemical compounds to identify those that could be made into drugs. It has said use of its systems could cut the normal drug discovery process to just months from the usual five to 10 years.
Aurora has drawn investor interest amid the genomic revolution now sweeping the biotechnology industry because the company's technology offers a potential solution to the challenge of identifying which of thousands of gene targets are commercially relevant.
Several other stocks involved in genomics were also lower at midday, including Human Genome Sciences Inc. <HGSI.O>, down 9-3/8 at 188-5/16, and Idec Pharmaceuticals Inc. <IDPH.O>, off 13-13/16 at 157-1/2.
Some of Aurora's investors may also have turned skittish after Kleanthis Xanthopoulos, the company's vice president of genomics and developer of its genomics screening application, resigned from the company last week, King said.
He said the resignation was a blow, but the drop in the stock's price was clearly out of proportion to the company's fundamentals.
Aurora spokeswoman Angela Hartley said Xanthopoulos resigned to pursue other interests. He was only one member of the company's scientific team, she said.
"He was not a significant part of our biology programs," Collinson said.
15:18 03-07-00 |
