- Barron's reports that Jefferies believes "only the strong (biotechs) will survive" this year. Despite strong underlying science, a more receptive regulatory environment and continued pricing power for innovative products, headwinds remain. The inability to aggressively hike prices for core franchises will place more of a premium on innovation and M&A to drive growth. Key picks:
- Large cap: Celgene (CELG +0.2%), Gilead Sciences (GILD -0.5%).
- Mid cap: Alkermes (ALKS -0.9%), Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX +2.8%).
- Small cap: Aevi Genomic Medicine (GNMX -0.2%), Alder BioPharmaceuticals (ALDR +2.2%), AMAG Pharmaceuticals (AMAG +3.5%), DBV Technologies (DBVT +1.1%), Immunomedics (IMMU), Ignyta (RXDX +10.8%), Karyopharm Therapeutics (KPTI +2.6%), Ra Pharmaceuticals (RARX +4.2%), TherapeuticsMD (TXMD -0.6%), Xenon Pharmaceuticals (XENE -1.9%).