For ideas on interesting stock trades, one great source is institutional purchases - stocks seeing strong net purchases from institutional investors have the backing of hedge fund managers, mutual fund managers, and other "big money" investors.
We ran a screen on the biotech industry for stocks with currently bearish sentiment from institutions, with significant net institutional selling over the current quarter.
Interactive Chart: Press Play to compare changes in analyst ratings over the last two years for the six stocks mentioned below. Analyst ratings sourced from Zacks Investment Research.
We also created a price-weighted index of the stocks mentioned below, and monitored the performance of the list relative to the S&P 500 index over the last month. To access a complete analysis of this list's recent performance, click here.
Do you think these stocks will underperform? Use this list as a starting point for your own analysis.
List sorted by net institutional sales as a percent of share float.
1. Dendreon Corp. (DNDN): Engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutics to enhance cancer treatment options for patients. Market cap of $1.84B. Net institutional shares sold over the current quarter at 12.8M, which is 8.78% of the company's 145.73M share float. The stock has had a couple of great days, gaining 62.93% over the last week.
2. Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. (MNTA): A biotechnology company, specializes in the in the characterization and process engineering of complex molecules. Market cap of $948.45M. Net institutional shares sold over the current quarter at 2.7M, which is 7.09% of the company's 38.08M share float. The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 11.75% (equivalent to 5.86 days of average volume). The stock has had a couple of great days, gaining 5.95% over the last week.
3. Enzon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ENZN): Engages in the research and development of therapeutics for cancer patients with unmet medical needs. Market cap of $315.82M. Net institutional shares sold over the current quarter at 1.8M, which is 6.13% of the company's 29.36M share float. The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 12.73% (equivalent to 23.22 days of average volume). The stock has lost 46.87% over the last year.
4. Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. (ACOR): A commercial stage biopharmaceutical company, involves in the identification, development, and commercialization of therapies for multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, and other nervous system disorders. Market cap of $1.02B. Net institutional shares sold over the current quarter at 2.0M, which is 5.88% of the company's 34.00M share float. The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 10.6% (equivalent to 9.4 days of average volume). The stock has had a couple of great days, gaining 8.95% over the last week.
5. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (CRL): Provides research models and laboratory animal support expertise to help its global partners advance their research and drug development efforts. Market cap of $1.38B. Net institutional shares sold over the current quarter at 2.6M, which is 5.35% of the company's 48.59M share float. The stock has lost 23.45% over the last year.
6. Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (JAZZ): Develops and commercializes products for neurology and psychiatry primarily in the United States. Market cap of $1.91B. Net institutional shares sold over the current quarter at 1.2M, which is 4.56% of the company's 26.30M share float. This is a risky stock that is significantly more volatile than the overall market (beta = 2.08). Might be undervalued at current levels, with a PEG ratio at 0.63, and P/FCF ratio at 14.71. The stock has had a couple of great days, gaining 18.23% over the last week.
*Institutional data sourced from Fidelity, all other data sourced from Finviz.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.
