Five Biotech Stocks Not for the Faint of Heart

If you’re one of those enormous risk takers, an investor willing to take big chances to make big bucks, read on. If not, don’t waste your time because in this case your financial risk is practically equivalent to swimming in crocodile infested waters, skydiving in a snowstorm, or wrestling with a gorilla.The big risk here is a reference to five highly speculative, development-stage, low-priced biotech stocks that its booster, Marc Florin, a managing director of Albert Fried & Company, a New York Stock Exchange member firm, thinks could either go down 100% or up 1,000%.In other words, it’s go for broke, a shot at a return of 10 times your money or the loss of your entire investment.Mr. Florin, who has tracked the biotech industry for the past 15 years and personally owns several of these high-risk issues, cautions they’re all very volatile and thin, certainly, he says, not for the faint of heart.The five biotechs, in general, sport market capitalizations of less than $300 million, and their chief enticements are various products in clinical studies that have roughly a five-year window before they could get the green light from the Food & Drug Administration and be marketed.Here are the five stocks:* Indevus Pharmaceuticals ($5.69): Its key is a drug, Nebido, a treatment for males with low sex drive.* InSite Vision ($1.03): This is an ophthalmic development company that’s principal product, Azasite, is targeting infections in the eye. The company is also close to a deal with a large pharmaceutical firm that would partner with it and distribute its product.* Chelsea Therapeutics International ($3): Its chief appeal is a rhumetoid arthritis drug, CH1504, which would be taken orally. At stake here, observes Mr. Florin, is a multibillion-dollar market.* VioQuest Pharmaceuticals ($0.73): The company is working on therapies for oncology and auto-immune disorders and also has a presence in China.* Emisphere Technologies ($6.77): It’s a company engaged in oral drug delivery technology, including a low-weight heparin (a blood-thinning drug).Mr. Florin has personal investments in Chelsea Therapeutics (his top pick among the five biotech companies listed here) VioQuest, and Insite Vision.***Did someone cheat? That’s what securities industry regulators want to know, namely whether some investors illegally traded on inside information. To find out, stock trading investigations – which are said to be off to a brisk start in 2006 – have been launched on four companies, I’ve learned.Two of the investigations, I’m told, involve York International and Take-Two Interactive Sportswear, and are being conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The other two trading probes, which are being handled by Nasdaq regulators, center on Rigel Pharmaceuticals and Myogen.Regulatory inquiries have already been sent to brokerages seeking the names of clients who have traded in the shares and options of the four companies in specific time periods.One regulatory source confirmed all four investigations but declined to discuss them.* * *Overpriced: That’s Banc of America Securities’ assessment of animated film producer Pixar ($56.15). Its shares rose in recent weeks on heightened speculation that Disney may acquire the company or that the two would forge a new distribution deal. While BOAS expects a resolution soon, analyst Michael Savner figures Pixar’s stock price largely reflects the potential upside from either outcome. What’s more, Mr. Savner thinks it would be difficult for Disney to justify an acquisition of Pixar either strategically or economically at the current price, which raises questions about how much of a premium it might pay. Summing it all up, Mr. Savner says, “We believe Pixar shares are trading above fair value.”

Five Biotech Stocks Not for the Faint of Heart

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