The Last Week of April Wasn’t Good for Biotechnology Stocks
Weekly Update: April's Final Week Saw Biotechnology Stocks Plunge
Weekly updates on biotechnology ETFs
The last week of April 2016 saw biotechnology stocks falling as weak earnings gripped the market.
For the week ended April 29, 2016, the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) fell 7.1%, the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) fell 6.8%, the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) fell 2.9%, and the iShares US Medical Devices ETF (IHI) fell 0.7%. This indicated that biotechnology stocks ended the week and the month on a negative note.
The above chart gives information on the performances of a few biotechnology ETFs. The iShares US Medical Devices ETF outperformed other biotechnology ETFs, including the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), for the week ended April 29, 2016.
In terms of fund flows, IBB and XBI saw outflows of $111.5 million and $39.5 million, respectively, while XLV saw an inflow of $156.8 million for the week ended April 29, 2016.
Individual stocks that gained during the week
Individual stocks that rose during the week ended April 29, 2016, included Immunomedics (IMMU), Medivation (MDVN), and Boston Scientific (BSX), which rose 10.3%, 9.8%, and 10.9%, respectively.
IMMU rose after it provided an update on Sacituzumab Govitecan (IMMU -132). In a press release, the company announced, “Objective durable responses have been achieved with sacituzumab govitecan, its lead antibody-drug conjugate [ADC], in a number of patients with advanced, metastatic solid cancers, after failing multiple prior therapies, some including checkpoint inhibitors [CPIs].”
Immunomedics closed at $3.55. Year-to-date, the stock has risen by 15.6%. The relative strength index (or RSI) of the stock is at 72, indicating that it has moved into an overbought situation temporarily. It has a weight of 0.03% in IBB.
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