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Biotech / Medical : Ligand (LGND) Breakout! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Paul Moerman who wrote (17370)	3/13/1998 9:24:00 AM
From: celeryroot.com	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 32384

It looks like Isip will have an up opening today. I believe they are presenting at a cancer conference next week...maybe Henry can assist on that. I own

To: Paul Moerman who wrote (17370)	3/13/1998 1:03:00 PM
From: Andreas Helke	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 32384

1996 I had an unprofitable habit of buying Chiron and Isis and dumping in for a small loss a short time later. I eventually decided to stay in Isis and out of Chiron. Isis promptly rewarded me for my decision by dropping from my $19.6 buy price to $13 and has stayed inside this range till now. Yesterday I decided to do some averaging down and bought 50% more. It's nice that a biotech that I just bought shares of keeps going up after I buy. I am not really used to such a behaviour. I still have 15 times as much invested in Ligand than I have in Isis. Isis has a several compounds in clinical tests and an interesting technology but is still far away from profits. Therefore I don't really know if it is cheap or expensive at the current price level. But it is clearly a better value then it was when I started buying in 1996. Andreas

To: Paul Moerman who wrote (17370)	3/13/1998 1:19:00 PM
From: jayhawk969	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 32384

Paul,The following may warm your heart. It is interesting that Ligand is so far down the list for Mr Larson. SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 12, 1998--If you want to catch the next wave in biotechnology, follow a five-year plan says a successful long-time biotech investor. Jerry Larson, a major biotechnology investor and one of the few individual investors regularly invited to institutional conferences, says the waves come every five years. ''I've seen companies lose a chairman and the stock goes up, and I've watched firms declare that drugs work and the stocks go down,'' Larson quipped. ''The sector seems to move every five years, not necessarily for rhyme or reason. That means we may not see broad improvement until 1999.'' Larson, a stock picker, typically owns only 10 biotech stocks. ''Isis (Nasdaq:ISIP - news) is my best value right now. They've got seven products in the clinic and more in development, great technology, patents. These are products they own by themselves, not in partnership, yet look where the stock's trading.'' ISIP trades around 13. Larson's Top Ten in order of preference are: Isis Pharmaceuticals, AXYS Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:AXPH - news), Agouron Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:AGPH - news), Icos Corp. (Nasdaq:ICOS - news), Alteon (Nasdaq:ALTN - news), Cephalon (Nasdaq:CEPH - news), Sugen (Nasdaq: SUGN - news), Cor Therapeutics (Nasdaq:CORR - news), Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq:GILD - news) and Ligand Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:LGND - news). Associate biotech analyst Michael Wood at Hambrecht & Quist hopes good results and drug-approvals propel selected stocks. Wood blames ''a significant number'' of clinical trial failures for sector softness. Sangstat Medical (Nasdaq:SANG - news)--''We expect approval for Cyclosporine in roughly two months and profitability by year's end''--Incyte Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:INCY - news) among drug discoverers, and Biochem Pharma (Nasdaq:BCHE - news), which may have approval for its hepatitis B drug in Asia and South America by mid-year, are top picks, Wood said.