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

To: Harrison Hickman who wrote (20369)	5/11/1998 5:21:00 AM
From: Henry Niman	Respond to of 32384

Harrison, I don't follow Zack's that closely. Their predictions are largely based on earnings, so Biotechs don't get high ratings. As I recall, LGND did get their highest rating briefly (very unusual for a Biotech without earnings) but they have received a BUY fairly recently (in part due to the earnings surprise in February). I have seen LGND get as low as SELL, but can't recall a STRONG SELL. Since Biotech earnings are hard to predict (before they have products on the market), earnings bounce around a bit as do Zack's ratings. I put up the info on Zacks to explain the "high risk" part of the Legg Mason rec and to explain why a BUY rec was equal to a STRONG BUY or a 1, according to services that keep tabs on ratings.

To: Harrison Hickman who wrote (20369)	5/11/1998 8:25:00 AM
From: tonyt	Respond to of 32384

Speaking of research, I'm suprised (...well, not really), that no one has mentioned that the avg recomendation dropped last week. Had it increased, there would have been 200+ posts about it. quote.yahoo.com

To: Harrison Hickman who wrote (20369)	5/11/1998 8:30:00 AM
From: Henry Niman	Respond to of 32384

Harrison, The downgrade (from Strong Buy to Buy) by BancAmerica Robertson Stephens was posted quite some time ago (April 28) Message 4245212 As I said, some poster's hindsight is far from 20/20 and difficulties with dates is truely remarkable. The rating reduction happened on April 28 (not last week) and became 1.5 (two STRONG BUYS and two BUYS) instead of 1.25 (3 STRING BUYS and 1 BUY). Last week Legg Mason initiated coverage with a STRONG BUY, so last week the rating WENT UP (to 1.4). The current status is 3 STRONG BUYS (Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Legg Mason) and 2 BUYS ( Hambrecht & Quist and BancAmerica-Robertson Stephens). Details are at home.att.net

To: Harrison Hickman who wrote (20369)	5/11/1998 9:08:00 AM
From: Henry Niman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 32384

Here's a recent (May 6) BancAmerica Robertson Stephens Biotech report showing their BUY rec on LGND (it used to be a STRONG BUY): Several biotechnology companies are expected to have significant news events in the next few weeks. Below is a calendar of some of those events, the companies involved and the anticipated timing. We believe that the flow of news this month will help keep investment attention focused on the sector. Companies (Ticker - Rating) Dates Event MedImmune (MEDI - $53-1/8) 5/5 Analyst meeting (New York) Genzyme (GENZ - $31-7/16- NR) 5/6 Analyst meeting (Boston) Chiron/Cephalon (CHIR -$19- 11/16- LTA; CEPH- $13-15/16 - Buy) 5/12 User fee expiration for Myotrophin Ergo Science (ERGO -$17-5/16- NR) 5/14 FDA panel review of Ergoset for diabetes Genzyme (GENZ - NR) 5/15 FDA panel review of Thyrogen for thyroid cancer detection BioChem Pharma (BCHE $25-1/8- Buy) Amgen (AMGN - Buy) 5/16- 5/22 Digestive Disease Week (New Orleans) Sequus (SEQU- 12-1/16 - Strong Buy) Amgen (AMGN - Buy) Ligand (LGND -13-7/8- Buy) ImClone (IMCL-11-1/4 - MP) Immunex (IMNX- 72-1/4 - NR) Idec (IDPH -$35-3/8 NR) Coulter (CLTR - 28-3/4- NR) 5/16- 5/19 American Society of Clinical Oncology (Los Angeles) AMGN analyst briefing at ASCO (5/18) BioChem Pharma (BCHE - Buy) 5/22 Analyst meeting (Quebec) Centocor (CNTO-$41-1/8 - NR) 5/28 FDA panel review of Avakine for severe Crohn's disease Sequus (SEQU - Strong Buy) 5/29 Analyst meeting (New York)