Companies featured in this edition of the newsletter: ACCP, ACTC, CBAI, CVM, ENZ, ICLK, IWEB
It was a relatively slow week on Wall Street with markets closed in observance of Memorial Day on Monday and a lack of any major developments throughout the week, but stocks managed to continue their upward swing despite the lack of significant catalysts. All told, the Dow managed to close up 2.7%, gaining 233 points to close at 8500, paring its year-tod-date loss to 3.1%. The Nasdaq gained 4.9%, closing at 1774, bringing its yearly gains to 12.5% while the S&P 500 and Russell 2000 gained 3.6% and 5.0% respectively, nudging into positive territory on the year at 1.8% and 0.4%.
While there was little in the way of significant newsworthy developments this week, markets managed to post modest gains despite a looming bankruptcy filing from beleaguered automaker General Motors and a continuation of the less than stellar economic reports which investors again seemed to shrug off. Tuesday’s session was highlighted by better than expected May Consumer Confidence numbers (54.9 as opposed to the 42.6 consensus estimate) which provided investors with all the excuse that they needed to send stocks higher, ultimately leading to the S&P 500 posting a gain of 2.6%.
Tuesday’s rally was extinguished by a late sell off on Wednesday prompted by rocketing bond yields which led to an aggressive exit from stocks as investors moved to capitalize on strengths in the bond markets. Economic data on the day did little to spur enthusiasm for equities, as continuing unemployment claims hit another record high of 6.78 million, suggesting that the weakness characterizing labor markets is still prevalent despite a drop in initial jobless claims which was announced that same day.
What should investors look for this week? Keep a close eye on developments with the GM bankruptcy situation. GM agreed to a restructuring deal late Tuesday of last week with the United Autoworkers, where the union would take a significantly smaller stake in the company and the US government would take an increasingly larger one. The company’s bondholders agreed to an amended deal on Thursday which would allow GM to move forward with bankruptcy, with reports that the Obama administration plans to usher GM into bankruptcy as early as Monday.
Earnings reports will be few and far between this week, but expect results from Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM) before the bell on Wednesday, and Quiksilver (NYSE: ZQK) Thursday after the close.
Economic indicators for the week begin with Personal Income and Spending figures for April due out at 8:30am Monday morning followed by Construction Spending for April and ISM Index for May at 10:00am. Pending Home Sales for April are due out at 10:00am followed by Truck and Auto Sales for May at 2:00pm. On Wednesday, expect the ADP Employment Reportfor May at 8:15am, followed by Factory Orders for April and ISM Services for May at 10:00am and Weekly Crude Inventories at 10:30am. Weekly Initial Jobless Claims, Revised Q1 Productivity and Q1 Unit Labor Costs will be released together at 8:30am Thursday Morning. The week finishes up with Average Workweek, Hourly Earnings, Nonfarm Payrolls and the Unemployment Rate, all for May, released together at 8:30am, followed by Consumer Credit figures for April at 2:00pm that afternoon.
The conference schedule will be fairly busy this week with earnings and Memorial Day in the rear view mirror. Things kick off in New York on Monday with the two day Goldman Sachs Lodging, Gambling, Restaurant and Leisure Conference along with the RBC Capital Markets Global Energy & Power Conference. On Tuesday look for the Oppenheimer & Co. Insurance CEO Summit, also being held in New York, along with Medtronic who will be holding an analyst day in Minneapolis. On Wednesday, Citi will hold its Electric Power & Gas Conference in DC, along with their Healthcare Services Day in New York, in addition to the two day Bank of America and Merrill Lynch US Technology conference and the two day Goldman Sachs Basic Materials Conference which are both also being held in New York.
Investors may want to keep an eye on Enzo Biochem (NYSE: ENZ) this week, as the company previously said that it would present results at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) from its two Phase II double-blind, placebo controlled studies on the effectiveness of its treatment for moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease. The studies were conducted by medical researchers from Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem. DDW takes place in Chicago from May 30th to June 4th. Two years ago, the company presented preliminary results from the study at the same event. Shares ended the week at $4.22, up 20 cents.
Volume Alert: Shares of Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCBB: ACCP), an emerging biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes propriety products for the treatment and supportive care of cancer patients, surged 42% on over 4 times average volume last week, following an update on the status of the global launch of its proprietary oral mucositis product MuGuard. The product has been launched in Germany, Italy, UK, Greece and the Nordic countries by its European commercial partner, SpePharm, a pan-European specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to the provision of high medical value medicines in supportive and critical care. The Company has previously announced commercialization agreements in North America, China and eight Southeast Asian countries and Korea, and is actively seeking additional marketing partners in other regions. MuGard is a ready-to-use mucoadhesive oral wound rinse for the management of oral mucositis, a debilitating side effect of many anticancer treatments. Up to 40% of all patients receiving chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy develop moderate to severe mucositis, and almost all patients receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer and those undergoing stem cell transplantation develop mucositis, providing a robust worldwide market estimated to be in excess of $1 billion. Shares gained fifty five cents on the week to close at $1.85.
Volume Alert: Shares of stem cell developer Advanced Cell Technology (OTC: ACTC), jumped over 20% on Friday on over twice average volume, as a result of the company being featured in an article in Reuters discussing the discovery of a ground breaking new stem cell generation technique that was discovered as a result of collaborative efforts between Harvard University and ACTC- the technique is, the safest way yet to make stem-like cells, according to the article. The team at Harvard University and ACTC developed a technique by which they soak ordinary skin cells in human proteins that serve to turn back the biological clock on the cells, making them behave like embryonic stem cells, the building block for every type of cell manufactured in the body. The technique eliminates the controversy surrounding embryonic stem cells as there is no embryo involved in the collection of the cells, and since they are derived from a patient’s own skin cells, the chances of the cells being rejected are extremely small. While human clinical trials are still on the horizon, the potential commercial applications of this non-controversial method of obtaining the powerful, revolutionary cells positions ACTC extremely well in the race for the best method of employing regenerative therapies in a socially conscious manner. Shares gained just shy of two cents on the week to close at $0.1485.
CEL-SCI Corporation (AMEX: CVM), a company engaged in research and development of drugs and vaccines used in the treatment of cancer, announced last week that it is developing an immune-based treatment for the swine flu and related H1N1 flu viruses, utilizing its proprietary L.E.A.P.S.â„¢ (Ligand Epitope Antigen Presentation System) vaccine technology. Cel-Sci previously announced that its Cel-1000 peptide, which is derived from its L.E.A.P.S. technology has been successfully applied to several different diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, malaria, TB and herpes simplex viruses, and that it provided increased protection both on its own and as an adjuvant to other vaccines, such as those currently in development for treatment of H1N1. CVM believes that H1N1 may become even more virulent later this year as we enter the traditional flu season, and has stepped up efforts to develop its immune based treatment of the disease. The company has already commenced pre-clinical testing with plans to fast-track development in response to the growing global need for vaccines designed to treat the spreading outbreak. Shares lost one cent on the week to close at $0.274.
Cord Blood America, Inc. (OTCBB: CBAI), an umbilical cord blood stem cell preservation company focused on bringing the life saving potential of stem cells to families nationwide and internationally, announced last week that it has reduced its secured debt by a total of $4.2 million in the first five months of 2009. The significant reduction in debt is part of the company’s three tiered strategy to take the company beyond its current scope. Along with reducing debt, CBAI sees fostering organic growth and engaging in acquisitions as being key to their continued successful development- two areas which the company has been able to show gains in over the past few months, demonstrating 20% growth in deferred revenues in the first quarter of this year while announcing their intentions to build or acquire a stem cell laboratory which would significantly improve both acquisition prospects and gross margin. Shares remained unchanged at less than a penny on the week.
interCLICK (OTCBB: ICLK) the fastest growing advertising network in the US according to comScore, announced last week that its Chief Executive Officer, Michael Mathews, will present at Noble Financial’s Fifth Annual Equity Conference, being held June 8th and 9th, 2009 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Mr. Matthews will present on June 8th at 12:45pm. Shares gained thirty nine cents on slightly above average volume to close at $1.24.
IceWeb (OTCBB: IWEB), a storage technology company specializing in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) that provides services to bureaucratic and corporate organizations, announced last week that the company’s subsidiary INLINE, has sold several multi-terabyte imagery solutions to be used by government agencies affiliated with the Department of Defense. The transaction involved multiple storage units, Network Attached Storage Appliances (NAS) and INLINE’s high availability servers, and is expected to generate revenue that will be recognized in the current fiscal quarter. IceWeb is positioned well to take advantage of the demand for increasing complexity in system design which has been reflected by increased demand from both the public and private sectors for the company’s solutions in recent months. Shares gained a half cent on the week to close at $0.075.
