Biotechs cede ground to end wild week of trading

Biotechs will have to wait until next week to see if ongoing market volatility amid uncertainty related to the COVID-19 outbreak will allow Imara, the last company remaining in the NASDAQ IPO queue, to price its offering.

Biotech stocks lost ground in consecutive sessions Thursday and Friday, giving back some of the gains achieved earlier in the week. A strong performance Monday was lifted in part by the premium-priced buyout of Forty Seven Inc. (NASDAQ:FTSV) by Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) for $4.9 billion, which signaled persistent demand for early stage biotech M&A (see “Appetite for Deals”)...