Sell these stocks now, proven algorithm says

Biopharmaceutical company, consumer products maker headline this week’s list of "F" rated Strong Sells

Here are this week’s downgrades to Strong Sell as determined by the POWR Ratings algorithm. 

• Avidity Biosciences (RNA) – a biopharmaceutical company working on a new class of RNA therapeutics called Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates, or AOCs, whose pipeline has three programs in clinical development: AOC 1001 to treat people with myotonic dystrophy type 1, or DM1; AOC 1020 to treat people living with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, or FSHD; and AOC 1044 for people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, or DMD, mutations amenable to exon 44 skipping.

• Spectrum Brands (SPB) – a branded consumer products and home essentials company whose brands include Tetra, Nature’s Miracle, OmegaOne, Spectracide, Cutter, Repel, Black Flag, Remington, George Foreman, Russell Hobbs, Black+Decker, PowerXL and Copper Chef

• Netstreit (NTST) – an internally managed real estate investment trust, or "REIT," based in Dallas, Texas that specializes in acquiring single-tenant net lease retail properties nationwide

• NexGen Energy (NXE) – a corporation focused on the development of the Rook I uranium project located in Saskatchewan, Canada into production

• Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (RYTM) – a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on hyperphagia and severe obesity caused by rare melanocortin-4 receptor, or MC4R, pathway diseases

• Confluent (CFLT) – a data streaming platform that is "pioneering a fundamentally new category of data infrastructure that sets data in motion"

• 3D Systems (DDD) – brands itself as "the leading additive manufacturing solutions partner" that offers hardware, software, materials, and services to address applications in markets such as medical and dental, aerospace & defense, automotive and durable goods

• Cassava Sciences (SAVA) – a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on Alzheimer’s disease whose lead drug candidate Simufilam is undergoing Phase 3 studies

 

Learn more about the POWR Ratings

Recent news on these stocks:

February 16

3D Systems introduced its Regenerative Tissue Program intended to provide a solution for surgical procedures requiring reconstruction. "3D Systems has established this program as a result of the significant progress achieved in developing next-generation bioprinting solutions for 3D-printed solid organs. Through the combination of bioprinting technology, biocompatible 3D printing materials, and patient-derived cells, the company is constructing vascularized, patient-specific living human tissues. Through the power of advanced 3D modeling, novel bioinks, and high-speed high-resolution 3D bioprinters, 3D Systems is developing an acellular biointegrative scaffold to regenerate adipose tissue," the company said.

February 14

Avidity Biosciences announced that the FDA has granted Orphan Drug designation to AOC 1020 for the treatment of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy – FSHD -, a serious, rare, hereditary muscle-weakening condition marked by life-long, progressive loss of muscle function that causes significant pain, fatigue, and disability. AOC 1020 is being evaluated in the Phase 1/2 FORTITUDE clinical trial in adults with FSHD and is the company’s second muscle-targeting small interfering RNA AOC in clinical development. Avidity plans to share data from a preliminary assessment of AOC 1020 in approximately half of study participants from the FORTITUDE trial in the first half of 2024.

3D Systems announced the availability of the ProJet MJP 2500W Plus. "This new solution is specifically designed to produce complex, high-quality, pure wax 3D-printed jewelry patterns with unparalleled speed and precision for use in the lost wax casting process. Engineered specifically to meet the unique requirements of the jewelry industry, the ProJet MJP 2500W Plus can produce high-resolution 100% wax casting patterns in hours," the company said.

February 13

Avidity Biosciences’ treatment of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, or FSHD, was granted orphan designation by the FDA, according to a post to the agency’s website.

Wells Fargo analyst Chris Carey raised the firm’s price target on Spectrum Brands to $75 from $70 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm notes Q1 EBITDA came in better than feared. While expectations for Q2 implies a bigger second half of the year ramp versus prior, a risk, the cost discipline in Q1 should help, Wells says.

MoffettNathanson analyst Sterling Auty initiated coverage of Confluent with an Outperform rating and $36 price target. Confluent is a clear leader in its space, and application modernization should benefit the company’s top line, with improved profitability coming from recent cost discipline moves and priorities, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm sees share outperformance over the next year.

About "Sell these stocks now"

Each week, The Fly will announce the newest downgrades to Strong Sell in StockNews.com’s POWR Ratings algorithmic model.

This Fly exclusive recap identifies stocks with over a $1B market capitalization that have been downgraded this week to the Strong Sell, or "F," rating in the service’s proprietary model that analyzes 118 different factors, each of which contribute a little to the stock’s predicted likelihood of underperformance. A bell curve distribution of StockNews.com’s ratings shows that only the top 5% of the over 5,000 stocks rated by the system are assigned a "Strong Buy," or "A," rating while the bottom 5% are assigned a Strong Sell. The F-rated stocks would have tumbled an average of 18.98% a year since 1999, according to StockNews.com.