I had planned to blog about the nearly unanimous bearish analyst commentary this morning after Genentech's earnings report yesterday. The biotech giant beat on earnings per share, but came up short on Street expectations for sales of its top four drugs. DNA shares are under pressure again today.
The next potential mover of the stock is more than a month away. February 23rd is the "action date" for the Food and Drug Administration to decide whether to approve Genentech's Avastin as the first line of defense for breast cancer that has spread. But the 23rd is a Saturday. So, look for the decision to come down on Friday the 22nd or Monday the 25th. It could also come down anytime between now and then.
I also considered writing more about the Merck and Schering Plough ENHANCE studyon their cholesterol drug Vytorin and how some analysts are out with more research notes to clients this morning claiming yesterday's negative stock reaction to the news was overdone.