Stockwatch: A Week Of Dashed Expectations

Having come a long way (down) since the peak of last summer, investors are interested in when life science stocks will stabilize, and then when they will start to outperform broad stock markets again. Technical analysts or chartists look at share price graphs and pronounce some meaning from the patterns. However, I tend think of technical analysts in the same way as Robert Harris’ character Cicero (in his historical fiction series on ancient Rome) thought of the auguries and soothsayers of the day. To bring Cicero’s quote up to date, no doubt birds and entrails have their place in civilian government, but they sit badly with the prediction of stock market trends.

When the sector renaissance occurs, it will be when the positive fundamental drivers of the sector – new blockbuster product...