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Biotech / Medical : Biotech Valuation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Biomaven who wrote (6224)	4/26/2002 11:25:12 PM
From: hmpa	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 52153

<< Biotechnology stocks fell for the sixth straight session Friday with Applied Biosystems among the leading decliners after the maker of biotech research equipment trimmed its profit and revenue targets for the current quarter. The Amex Biotechnology Index (BTK: news, chart, profile) dropped 2.5 percent and the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI: news, chart, profile) slid 3.4 percent. It's been more than a week since the biotech indexes have closed in positive territory. Since the beginning of the year, the benchmark Amex biotech index has plunged about 25 percent. Some analysts have said the sector has suffered from a string of high-profile regulatory setbacks for much-anticipated new disease treatments. The latest victim of a regulatory disappointment was Cellegy, which announced Friday it had withdrawn an application to market a pain medication. Shares of Cellegy (CLGY: news, chart, profile) closed down $3.70, or 56 percent, to $2.90. See full story. In addition to the troubles on the regulatory front, analyst Jennifer Chao at Leerink Swann & Co. said biotech stocks have been hurt by another, less quantifiable force -- investor psychology. She said pervasive gloominess on Wall Street, which has been fed by concerns about accounting in the wake of Enron's collapse, has hit biotech stocks especially hard. "Biotech is about investing in the future and, for these stocks to do well, investors need to feel positive about the future," Chao said. Among the decliners Friday, Applied Biosystems' stock fell $1.18, or 6 percent, to $17.71. On Thursday, Applied Biosystems (ABI: news, chart, profile) cut its financial forecasts for its fiscal fourth quarter, saying "business conditions continue to deteriorate globally." Analyst Sheryl Zimmer at Deutsche Bank Securities cut her rating on Applied Biosystems' stock to "market perform" from "buy" and, in a note to clients, said she expects "tough sledding for awhile" for the company. Elsewhere, shares of Amgen (AMGN: news, chart, profile) closed down $1.36 to $53.84 after being up significantly early in the session. Amgen late Thursday said it was increasing its 2002 projected sales growth rate to the "low 20 percent range" from a previous target of "higher teens" growth. See full story. Ted Griffith is a reporter for CBS >> marketwatch.com