So who's responsible?

Do biotech prices surge simply because a conference exists? Should last week's trading be attributed to the Hambrecht & Quist Healthcare Conference? Or should it simply be ascribed to the January Effect - a scenario in which portfolio managers start the year anew, and are more receptive to growth stories in an effort to begin the year off with a bang. One argument for H&Q influence is that most of the presenting companies at last week's conference in San Francisco received price bumps, while the BioCentury 100 closed up only 1 percent at 1245.36.

H&Q banker Dennis Purcell, in a luncheon address on Tuesday, pointed out that the biotech sector had enough momentum on Monday to rise despite a tepid broad market. While the broad markets were mixed on Monday, "with half the stocks closing down and half the stocks closing up," Purcell noted, "85 percent of the presenting companies increased in price on Monday."...