We share weekly commentaries with investors on stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15% in a day during the course of the week. We hope you find this commentary useful.
FLIR Systems (FLIR)
+19%
FLIR Systems (FLIR) rose over 19% on Monday as Teledyne announced it would acquire the company for $8 billion in cash and stock. Both Teledyne and FLIR Systems manufacture electronic imaging sensors, each serving different markets and using different semiconductor technologies.
Skillz (SKLZ) jumped 21% on Tuesday seemingly in response to increased investor interest in esports, especially as the resurgence of the coronavirus is perpetuating the stay-at-home lifestyle. Skillz is a leading mobile games platform that enables competitive esports. Leveraging its patented match-making technology, Skillz hosts billions of casual esports tournaments worldwide per year.
Fate Therapeutics (FATE), a biopharmaceutical company that produces allogeneic cellular immunotherapies from induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines, traded up 15% and 17% on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, after announcing a $350 million secondary offering. In our view, Fate’s recent outperformance stems from the data it presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) several weeks ago. The company presented early but compelling evidence that its FT516 and FT596, targeting hematological malignancies with engineered iNK cells, could be administered safely and that multiple doses could compound the clinical benefits. Though early, this data could validate Fate’s proprietary platform with time.
Organovo (ONVO), a biotechnology company focused on 3D-bioprinting, traded up nearly 17% on Wednesday possibly because investors and speculators are gaining confidence in Organovo’s ability to maximize its 3D-bioprinting assets and deliver on a revitalized commercial strategy. We believe shares will be volatile until Organovo reveals more about its path forward.
Niu Technologies (NIU) appreciated more than 15% on Thursday after reporting that its sales of e-scooters grew 40.9% on a year over year basis last quarter, highlighting the continued adoption of its electric scooter product line, especially in China.
Workhorse Group (WKHS) appreciated more than 16% on Thursday in tandem with other electric vehicle stocks. The EV industry is enjoying strong share gains against its internal combustion engine counterparts and could gain more momentum now that the Democrats have majorities in both the House and the Senate.
Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA), a CRISPR based gene-editing company with a focus on in vivo gene-editing, closed up 16% on Thursday after providing an update on its pipeline ahead of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference next week. This year, the company plans to submit two Investigational New Drug (IND) applications to the FDA for NTLA-5001 and NTLA-2002 for the treatment of Transthyretin Amyloidosis and Hereditary Angioedema, respectively. Intellia’s announcement may have boosted the other CRISPR based stocks.
Pacific Biosciences of California (PACB) surged 16% on Thursday in tandem with a broad rally in healthcare stocks ahead of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference from January 11 to January 14. Typically, companies give business updates and make important announcements during the J.P. Morgan conference.
CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP), a gene-editing company creating therapeutics as potential cures for difficult to treat conditions, was up 18% on Thursday after a strong day for CRISPR based companies. ARK believes that CRISPR’s performance this quarter resulted from the encouraging data it presented on sickle cell and beta-thalassemia at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) in December.
AquaBounty Technologies (AQB), a company applying modern genetics to advance aquaculture production sustainably, closed up more than 19% on Thursday. We believe investors may be anticipating news on its farm expansion shortly.
Repare Therapeutics (RPTX), a precision oncology company focusing on synthetic lethality, appreciated 20% on Thursday, perhaps because investors are learning more about CRISPR’s potential role in drug discovery, particularly in companies with discovery platforms that use CRISPR based screening to find superior synthetic lethal gene pairs.
Arcturus Therapeutics (ARCT) closed up approximately 35% on Thursday after announcing its COVID-19 phase I/II data. While investors were originally disappointed that its vaccine’s neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) were lower than those that Pfizer and Moderna created, immunogenicity is not so simple. Arcturus believes that the strong T-cell response its vaccine elicited could provide a strong and durable response against SARS-CoV-2. Arcturus also was initiated with an overweight at Raymond James on Thursday, analyst Jim Birchenough noted that Arcturus validated its platform and differentiation of its self-amplifying mRNA delivery.
Stratasys (SSYS), ExOne (XONE), Materialise (MTLS), and Nano Dimension (NNDM)
+39%
On Thursday, 3D Systems announced preliminary fourth quarter revenues that were more than 20% higher than the consensus expectation, turbocharging 3D printing stocks: Stratasys closed up 39%, ExOne 21%, Materialise 18%, and Nano Dimension 15%. Stratasys is a leader in polymer 3D printing, while ExOne specializes in metal and sand. Materialise offers 3D printing software and services. Nano Dimension specializes in 3D printing hi-performance electronic devices (Hi-PEDs).
Beam Therapeutics (BEAM), a base editing company closed up 16% on both Thursday and Friday in tandem with other CRISPR-based stocks. Investors seem to be gaining conviction that gene-editing could cure certain diseases and that base editing represents the next generation, with fewer to no off-target edits.
Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT), a precision medicine company, closed down 50% on Friday after announcing that its Phase I study evaluating Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) did not meet its primary endpoint of improvement in NSAA total score (functional skills) compared to placebo. The company has several other programs for DMD, including gene-editing and RNA, and other interesting trials in limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD), cardiomyopathy, pompe disease, and multiple sclerosis (MS).
