Just saw this. . . . . . . .congrats, William.
AKA/Bio-Defense Stocks: The Hottest Thing Since The Internet
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Sniffing out timely biotech gems
Investors look for the next big thing
By Shawn Langlois, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 3:38 PM ET Oct. 15, 2001
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) - As unsavory as it may seem to some, there's plenty of money to be made amid the fear.
When trading resumed a week after the terrorist attacks, the obvious choices for wartime stocks, companies like Raytheon (RTN: news, chart, profile) and Lockheed Martin (LMT: news, chart, profile), took center stage and rocketed towards year highs.
Shortly thereafter, a group of security stocks caught the public's attention. Face recognition software developer Viisage Technologies (VISG: news, chart, profile) and explosive device detection maker, InVision Technologies (INVN: news, chart, profile) quickly became staples in the media and on the message boards after amassing exponential gains.
Now, as the specter of biological warfare has an apparent stranglehold on the market, a whole new batch of companies has started to emerge among the Web's diligent stock poachers -- companies well-positioned to profit from the growing need to combat bio-terrorism.
Earlier this month, the buzz swirling around Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Cepheid (CPHD: news, chart, profile), a maker of testing products for the detection of food and water contaminants, reached a fever pitch while stock in the company moved from the mid-$1 range well into double digits.
On Raging Bull, posters like HBlaze rode the groundswell of bullish enthusiasm: "Early detection is the name of the game. It will prevent massive infection -- that's what's important. A few early infections do not matter ... CPHD already got prototype orders from the US Army ... why? They were pleased with its performance."
Clearly, Silicon Investor's Pavlov2 heard the bell ring as well: "This stock, personal feelings aside, could make one rich! The anthrax scare will be with us for a while so this will be THE trading stock."
Yet, in the fickle world of virtual investing, Cepheid, perhaps the most discussed company in cyberspace over the past week, lost some of its momentum as the focus again shifted to treatment rather than prevention.
Take DirkDiggler who captured the transition in his post: "The FBI and CDC have to do numerous tests on the anthrax powder/letters to prove the hypothesis that there is anthrax. Testing kits can give misleading results, e.g. with false positives. So what have we got here? A company not due to be profitable until 2004, talking single digit MM revenue, and who is 'due' to release a testing kit. Hmm ... even if you tested yourself, then what? Are you going to believe the result? I wouldn't - I'd go to the doctor and ask for some antibiotics just in case!
"In any case, if people are looking at the anthrax angle, it seems that drug companies producing antibiotics, and preventative technology would be a better buy."
On that note, some determined posters, like longtime contributor Tim Luke, kept the search alive for the next big thing: "Acambis (ACAM: news, chart, profile) is by far my favorite long hold -- the only licensed small pox vaccine maker says it all for me."
Shares of the British pharmaceutical company have nearly doubled in the past month as demand for its small pox vaccine has heightened.
Along with Acambis, RatDogMan offered up a few picks of his own: "Bioreliance Corp. (BREL: news, chart, profile)- they have a contract with the government for military smallpox vaccines as well as an agreement to create a new vaccine for a national civil defense stockpile.
"Siga Technologies - working on a way to prevent the smallpox virus from reproducing. Developing a nasal spray as well as lozenges. Ditto for anthrax as well. The virology aspects of the project are being handled by Oregon State University while SIGA develops the drug."
Shares of Siga Technologies (SIGA: news, chart, profile) failed to hold the bulk of last week's substantial gains as CEO Philip Sussman announced his resignation on October 8th shortly after buyers ran the stock up nearly 100 percent.
Of course, that's merely a sampling of the back-and-forth dominating the Internet in this time of turmoil - absorb the information with a salt lick-sized grain of salt.
Regardless, detection and treatment companies will undoubtedly continue to pop up as the search continues. How about some picks of your own? Stop by CBS MarketWatch's Biotech/Pharmaceutical Discussion and share some of your thoughts. |
