From sept--->Genentech, biotech stocks retreat
Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline on the wane in pharma sector
By Ted Griffith, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 4:18 PM ET Sept. 24, 2003
BOSTON (CBS.MW) -- Biotechnology stocks lost ground Wednesday, with a sharp decline in the shares of bellwether Genentech putting pressure on the whole sector.
The Amex Biotechnology Index (BTK: news, chart, profile) slid 4.4 percent to 468.05, and the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI: news, chart, profile) decreased 4.7 percent to 749.15.
Genentech (DNA: news, chart, profile) shares tumbled $4.55, or 5.2 percent, to $82.85 following an analyst's downgrade.
Analyst Craig Parker at Lehman Bros. cut his rating to "equal weight" from "overweight," citing concerns about the rich valuation of Genentech shares.
Genentech shares have soared about 150 percent this year largely because of hopes about the No. 2 biotech firm's experimental cancer therapy, called Avastin. Although he expects Avastin to be a success, Parker cautioned in a note to clients that, "some have overestimated its commercial potential." See full story.
Checking the other biotech bellwethers, shares of No. 1 biotech firm Amgen (AMGN: news, chart, profile) dropped $2.73, or 4 percent, to $65.85.
Shares of Biogen (BGEN: news, chart, profile) fell $1.96, or 4.6 percent, to $40.37, and shares Idec Pharmaceuticals (IDPH: news, chart, profile) lost $1.67, or 4.5 percent, to $35.33. The two biotech firms are expected soon to complete their merger to form the No. 3 biotech firm, to be called Biogen Idec.
Among the session's biggest losers on a percentage basis, shares of Aeterna Laboratories (AELA: news, chart, profile) plummeted $2.17, or 33.5 percent, to $4.30. The company said before the bell that its experimental kidney cancer treatment failed to achieve its primary effectiveness goal in late-stage testing. While the drug, called Neovastat, failed to improve overall median survival, improvement was seen in a certain subgroup of healthier patients, the company said.
In the pharmaceutical sector, stocks were generally lower as well.
U.S.-listed shares of U.K.-based GlaxoSmithKline (GSK: news, chart, profile) shed 66 cents to $42.24, giving back some of the gains from the previous session. The stock had jumped Tuesday following an analyst's upgrade and a legal victory in a patent battle with generic drugmaker Andrx (ADRX: news, chart, profile).
Elsewhere, U.S.-listed shares of Swiss-based Novartis (NVS: news, chart, profile) dropped $1.37, or 3.4 percent, to $38.40. Shares were hurt by concerns that the Food and Drug Administration's request for additional information about an arthritis therapy will significantly delay approval of the drug, called lumiracoxib.
The Amex Pharmaceutical Index ($DRG: news, chart, profile) fell 1.7 percent to 312.58. |
