2-Star Stocks Poised to Plunge: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals?
Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, biotechnology company Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NAS: ALNY) has received a distressing two-star ranking.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Alnylam's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
Alnylamfacts
Headquarters (founded) | Cambridge, Mass. (2002) |
Market Cap | $599.5 million |
Industry | Biotechnology |
Trailing-12-Month Revenue | $82.5 million |
Management | Founder/Chairman John Clarke |
Return on Equity (average, past 3 years) | (29.6%) |
Cash/Debt | $199.1 million / $0 |
Competitors | Merck |
Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.
On CAPS, 9% of the 309 members who have rated Alnylam believe the stock will underperform the S&P 500 going forward.
A couple of weeks ago, one of those Fools, All-Star zzlangerhans, nicely summed up the bear case for our community:
The near-term hopes of Alnylam (and RNA interference in general) to be taken seriously as part of the future [armamentarium] against infectious disease were dealt a severe blow ... when the company reported failure of ALN-RSV01 to significantly reduce the incidence of bronchiolitis in RSV-infected patients in a phase IIb trial. ... I believe this development will drain market cap from the company as institutional investors edge quietly towards the exits. If this was an early proof-of-concept trial, the "near-miss" angle might hold water but it doesn't really make the grade for a phase IIb study. ...
I've profited before from volatility in Alnylam, but that was at a lower price entry point with more cash in the coffers. This time round, I'm seeing a lot more tunnel before any light appears.
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At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Pfizer. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.
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