Higher Third-Quarter Revenues Help Boost Biotechnology Stocks

Abstract

Biotechnology company stocks are experiencing new strength. In the week following the Presidential election, the stocks of at least a dozen prominent companies rose between 15 and 35% in value. This is a big change for biotechnology stocks—they have remained pretty much in the doldrums since April. Also contributing to the growth in stock prices have been recent third-quarter reports of strong revenues for many companies, new regulatory positions that look positive for both the biopharmaceutical and agricultural sides of the industry, and a belief that the incoming Clinton Administration will look favorably on high-technology areas. One week after the election, the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) national market for over-the-counter stocks, on which most biotechnology companies' stocks trade, rose about 5% to a new composite index high of 635. By the end of that week, stock prices dipped briefly when investors sold stocks to make profits. At the same time, the ...