By Val Brickates Kennedy
U.S. drug stocks edged higher Monday afternoon as the broader
market lost ground, bogged down by worries about upcoming earnings
for the U.S. banking industry and reports of auto maker General
Motors' plan for a bankruptcy filing.
The Amex Pharmaceutical Index (DRG) inched up to 237.77 while
the Amex Biotechnology Index (BTK) crept up 0.3% to 629.11.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 40 points to 8,041
in afternoon trading.
Abbott Laboratories (ABT) shares broke out of the doldrums,
trading up 2% to $44.63. The diversified healthcare group will
release its first-quarter financial report Wednesday morning.
Shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) were marginally lower at
$51.28. The conglomerate is expected to report moderately lower
earnings early Tuesday.
Alkermes Inc. (ALKS) was the notable exception on the biotech
side, with shares climbing 4% to $8.82. Analysts at BMO Capital
Markets raised their rating on the stock to market perform.
Rosetta Genomics (ROSG) was a leading advancer amongst the small
caps. Shares of the firm shot up 21% to $3.35.
Earlier Monday, Rosetta said it has granted U.S. licensing
rights to Prometheus Laboratories for three of its new
microRNA-based cancer diagnostic tests. In addition to various
payments, including royalties on U.S. sales, Prometheus has also
agreed to buy an $8 million equity stake in Rosetta, at $4 a
share.
The two companies will also be collaborating on the development
of two new gastroenterology tests.
-Val Brickates Kennedy; 415-439-6400;
AskNewswires@dowjones.com