BioCentury
ARTICLE | Finance

Froth, not momentum

May 26, 1998 7:00 AM UTC

Recent stock surges such as EntreMed (ENMD), NeoTherapeutics (NEOT) and Progen (PGLAF) may raise hopes that momentum players are starting to play in the sector. But Street watchers note that the big name momentum players that participated in the 1996 upswing - such as Janus Capital, Twentieth Century and Berger Associates - are sticking to high-tech and earnings-driven growth stories.

Instead, recent biotech price spikes appear to be driven primarily by retail buyers. "It's a new phenomenon," said Mitch Silber, partner at The Carson Group. "It's like the internet phenomenon comes to biotech." SBC Warburg Dillon Read banker Eric Roberts agreed: "There's an unusual amount of retail interest in the sector because of the cancer hopes."...