Why Sangamo Biosciences Shares Plunged

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Sangamo Biosciences plunged 14% today after its full-year outlook disappointed Wall Street.

So what: Sangamo's fourth-quarter results managed top estimates -- EPS loss of just $0.07 versus the consensus loss of $0.12 -- but downbeat revenue guidance for 2013 is triggering concerns over slowing growth going forward. Of course, the stock has been on fire of late, up roughly 80% over just the past three months, so a pullback shouldn't come as too big of a surprise.

Now what: Management now sees full-year 2013 revenue of $20 million-$24 million, versus the consensus of $23.1 million.

"[W]e are looking forward to an exciting year of progress in what feels like a promising climate for Sangamo," said founder and CEO Edward Lanphier in a conference call, "with a strong interest from Big Pharma patients and investors and potentially curative approaches to genetic and rare diseases."

So while Sangamo remains just too volatile and risky for average Fools, today's double-digit drop might be providing an attractive opportunity for biotech-savvy traders.

Interested in more info Sangamo?Add it to your watchlist.

The article Why Sangamo Biosciences Shares Plunged originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Brian Pacampara has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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 Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.