Are Geron & Stem Cell Stocks The Biotech Winners of 2009? (GERN, STEM, OSIR, GENZ, ASTM, NBS, KOOL, OPXA)
Yesterday we saw a rally in stem cell players of Geron Corp. (NASDAQ: GERN) and StemCells Inc. (NASDAQ: STEM). These are both winners that are currently in a winning sector, assuming that Obama administration opens the stem cell floodgates that have been dammed up for the last eight years.
Last month StemCells (STEM) won FDA approval for clinical trials. Today we have Geron (GERN) leading the sector on FDA approval for starting trials for embryonic stem cell studies on spinal cord injuries.
Geron (GERN) is up huge today. Shares are up 35% at $7.10, a new 52-week and a high back to levels not seen since 2007. Geron closed out 2008 at $4.67, so this is now up 50% for 2009.
StemCells (STEM) is also following suit with its shares up almost 14% at $2.45. This stock closed out 2008 at $1.36. That makes a gain of 75% or so for 2009 so far.
Osiris Therapeutics (NASDAQ: OSIR) entered into a pact in recent months with Genzyme (NASDAQ: GENZ) to develop and commercialize first-in-class adult stem cell products. Osiris is up a mere 1.5% today at $19.13. That is about flat compared to its 2008 close-out of $19.16.
But there is play in the speculative names in the sector as well. Technically, all of these are speculative stocks in the stem cell sector. But here are some of the “even more speculative names” in stem cells:
Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. (ASTM) up 21% at $0.62, up from a 2008 close-out price of $0.50.
Neostem, Inc. (NBS) is up 26% at $0.95 today, up from $0.47 as a 2008 close-out stock price.
Thermogenesis Corp. (KOOL) is often overlooked as a stem cell stock. But this one is up over 8% at $0.59 today. It closed out 2008 at $0.43.
Opexa Therapeutics, Inc. (OPXA) is also one of the more speculative names, and its stock is up over 20% at $0.43 today. It is hard to get excited about penny stocks for most skep[tics, but this stock is currently now up more than 100% from the $0.19 stock price where it closed in 2008.
There are other stocks in teh sector, but these are the main ones we follow in thr group. We rarely include pink sheet and OTC stocks.
Jon C. Ogg
January 23, 2009
