15 Jan A Midwest small-cap, life-science surprise package
As we saw in the last article, 2006 was a good year for the overall stock market, and less kindly to the biotech sector. We also saw that it was a mixed bag for the large-cap life science companies in the Midwest. But if the outlook was mixed for these much more solid companies, then how was it for the far more speculative and risky smaller-cap companies?
Before we take a look, the chart below is a reminder of the overall key market indices.
Stock Market Indices 2006
| Index | Stock Price 12/31/06 | Stock Price 1/3/06 | % Change |
| Dow Jones Industrials | 12,463.15 | 10,718.30 | +16% |
| NASDAQ Composite | 2,415.49 | 2,216.53 | +9% |
| NASDAQ Biotech | 798.39 | 795.32 | 0% |
| AMEX Biotech | 754.39 | 680.91 | +11% |
| AMEX Pharmaceutical* | 345.06 | 319.99 | +11% |
Source: Yahoo, 12/31/06
*Includes 15 Pharma companies: Abbott, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson, King Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline, Forest Labs, Eli Lilly, Merck, Pfizer, Schering Plough, Sanofi-Aventis, Teva Pharma, and Wyeth.
I have had to rejigger the Midwest Small Cap Life Science companies’ list as a number of these companies have graduated to the large-cap list due to growth in market valuation. Any company with a market valuation over $1 billion is now in the large-cap list and anything under $1 billion in valuation is in the small-cap list. (I am not advocating that you buy or sell any of these stocks.)
Midwest Small Cap Life Science Stocks – Nine Months/2005
| Company/Ticker | State | Stock Price 12/30/06 | Stock Price 1/3/06 | % Change | Market Cap $ million |
| 1. eV3 (EVVV) | Minnesota | $17.23 | $15.00 | +15% | $988 |
| 2. Invacare (IVC) | Ohio | $24.55 | $31.50 | <22%> | $783 |
| 3. Meridian Bioscience (VIVO) | Ohio | $24.53 | $20.26 | +21% | $642 |
| 4. SurModics (SRDX) | Minnesota | $31.12 | $36.97 | <16%> | $572 |
| 5. Akorn (AKN) | Illinois | $6.25 | $3.85** | +62% | $507 |
| 6. Kendle Int. (KNDL) | Ohio | $31.45 | $25.53 | +23% | $453 |
| 7. Caraco Pharmaceutical Labs (CPD) | Michigan | $14.00 | $9.00 | +56% | $370 |
| 8. Stereotaxis (STXS) | Missouri | $10.32 | $8.99 | +15% | $356 |
| 9. Acura Pharmaceuticals (ACUR.OB) | Illinois | $0.74 | $0.30 | +147% | $245 |
| 10. Lifecore Biomedical (LCBM) | Minnesota | $17.83 | $15.93 | +12% | $236 |
| 11. Possis Medical (POSS) | Minnesota | $13.48 | $10.12 | +33% | $232 |
| 12. Neogen (NEOG) | Michigan | $22.20 | $21.14 | +5% | $204 |
| 13. Third Wave Technologies (TWTI) | Wisconsin | $4.81 | $3.00 | +60% | $202 |
| 14. Aastrom Biosciences (ASTM) | Michigan | $1.23 | $2.15 | <43%> | $147 |
| 15. Vascular Solutions (VASC) | Minnesota | $8.73 | $7.80 | +12% | $132 |
| 16. Synovis Life Technologies (SYNO) | Minnesota | $9.95 | $9.98 | 0% | $120 |
| 17. Northfield Labs (NFLD) | Illinois | $4.07 | $13.39 | <70%> | $109 |
| 18. Atricure (ATRC) | Ohio | $8.94 | $10.65 | <16%> | $109 |
| 19. ImmTech International (IMM) | Illinois | $7.60 | $7.00 | +9% | $107 |
| 20. Enpath Medical (NPTH) | Minnesota | $14.55 | $8.45 | +72% | $ 91 |
| 21. Advanced Life Sciences (ADLS) | Illinois | $2.72 | $4.05 | <33%> | $ 77 |
| 22. BioSante (BPA) | Illinois | $2.77 | $3.52 | <21%> | $ 65 |
| 23. NeoPharm (NEOL) | Illinois | $1.67 | $10.96 | <85%> | $ 47 |
| 24. Urologix (ULGX) | Minnesota | $2.35 | $3.92 | <40%> | $ 34 |
| 25. Uroplasty (UPI) | Minnesota | $2.46 | NA | NA | $ 33 |
Source: Yahoo Financial: 12/31/06 (www.yahoo.com)
*Small Cap is defined here as anything less than $1 billion in market cap
**Date of listing on American Stock Exchange (after restructuring)
Surprise, surprise!! The results for our group above were pretty darn good for a number of our companies; in fact downright outstanding! Although the news of late stage product failures at the FDA for both Northfield Labs and NeoPharm cratered the stocks of these companies, a number of Midwest Small Cap Life Science stocks performed very well in an otherwise turbulent environment.
Note that the criteria for leaders is a stock price better than the NASADQ Biotech Index, while Laggards is less than or equal to the NBI.
Stock Price Leaders
Company % Growth
1. Acura Pharmaceuticals, 147%
2. Enpath Medical, 72%
3. Akorn, 62%
4. Third Wave Technologies, 60%
5. Caraco Pharmaceuticals, 57%
6. Possis Medical, 33%
7. Kendle Int., 23%
8. Meridian Bioscience, 21%
9. EV3, 15%
10. Stereotaxis, 15%
11. Lifecore Biomedical, 12%
12. Vascular Solutions, 12%
13. ImmTech, 9%
14. Neogen, 5%
Stock Price Laggards
Company % Growth
1. NeoPharm, 85%
2. Northfield Labs, 70%
3. Aastrom Bioscience, 43%
4. Urologix, 40%
5. Advanced Life Sciences, 33%
6. Invacare, 22%
7. BioSante, 21%
8. Surmodics, 16%
9. Atricure, 16%
10. Synovis, 0%
In the next article, I will review in greater detail what happened with some of the above companies that impacted their stock performance for 2006.
See you soon!
Previous articles by Michael Rosen
• Michael Rosen: 2006: A mixed blessing for Midwest life science companies
• Michael Rosen: 2006: A great biotech financing year, unless you were going public!
• Michael Rosen: Financing life science: The ongoing saga
• Michael Rosen: Midwest gaining stature in nanotech research
• Deborah Wilcox: The press vs. Google: Copyright cases to watch
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