Sentiment towards biotechs is still 'freezing', says TD Cowen

Crispr Therapeutics AG

01/11/2023 17:25

** Brokerage TD Cowen says its investor survey shows that
sentiment of biotech companies is "as negative as ever",
suggesting that it likely can't get much worse
    ** Says mid-cap biotech firms are now clear favorites as
investors turn less constructive on large-caps and stay bearish
on small-cap biotechs
    ** Biotechs, hit by a funding crunch due to higher interest
rates, have reined in spending on drug development since the
start of the year 
    ** The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index  .NBI  is down ~12% YTD,
while the wider Nasdaq composite index  .IXIC  has risen ~23%
this year
    ** The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF  XBI.P  is down ~20% this year,
set for its third straight year of decline 
    ** Says 42% of respondents view mid-cap biotechs as
undervalued, up from just 13% in Q3
    ** Says shares of Moderna  MRNA.O  and CRISPR  CRSP.O  were
investors' pick for most likely to underperform among large and
mid-cap biotechs
    ** Overall for large drugmakers, 33% of investors now expect
them to underperform, up from just 13% in Q3, and only 25% (down
from 43%) expect that segment to outperform  

 (Reporting by Christy Santhosh)
 ((Christy.Santhosh@thomsonreuters.com))