Biotech stocks pummeled on bubble fears
Biotech stocks took a beating Wednesday on fears that companies in the sector have become overvalued after an extended updraft. The Wall Street Journal published a story highlighting investor anxiety over the bull run, noting that a 240% gain in the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index since the beginning of 2012 has far outpaced the NASDAQ-100 Technology Sector Index's 82% gain over the same period. Big caps such as Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD), Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN), Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) and Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ:CELG) each have gained tens of billions of dollars in market cap over the past year.
The BioCentury 100 shed 335.99 (4.6%) to 6,949.67 on Wednesday, and has lost 7.6% since Friday's close. The NYSE Arca Biotechnology (BTK) lost 179.26 (4.4%) to 3,940.81 on Wednesday, and is down 7.1% since Friday. With the end of 1Q15 looming next Tuesday, profit-taking could exacerbate a sell-off. ...