April 24, 2005 The ability to pivot quickly is a talent highly prized in a point guard or a running back. In the stock market, on the other hand, it just causes consternation. Last week, stocks were more frenetic than usual, running up and down, blown this way and that by economic numbers that sometimes seemed positive and sometimes didn’t. Add the odd rumor into the mix, and you get a pretty volatile brew. After it was all over, Biotech was virtually flat on the week, losing less than one-half of a net point. That equates to a .01% net loss, with the Centient Biotech 200 closing at 3179. That compares to a climb in the NYSE Composite of .83% and in Nasdaq of 1.26%. During the week, Pozen did well on the strength of data from trials of its migraine drug, Critical Therapeutics climbed after submitting to get its asthma medication back on the market, disappointing earnings caused Parexel to slide lower, and Alcon moved up on better than expected numbers. More details.
