- 7/21/26…An unexpected SMID rally with the ARKG up 3.34%, XBI up 2.31% to $154.32. Crazy! Here are some of the 3% movers: from our focus list ARKG, ADPT, AMRX, AXSM, COGT, CRMD, CYRX, DNLI, DNTH, EYPT, ILMN, LGND, NBIX, PTGX,RCUS, VCYT, and of course XNCR.
- It looks like a buy on the dip because the RSI is not high. It could also be a massive buy-in by an ETF like ARKG. Stay tuned. I did notice from our model that Russell 2000 biotech holdings are having a Green Day.
7/20/26…11:30 EDT… Alert on two of our top picks: XNCR up 9%to the $19 level on speculation that clinical development news will coming soon. And Personals (PNSL) will be acquired by TEMPUS AI for approximately $1.5B. Both of these stocks were among our top SMID biotech picks.
7/17/26 240p EDT, Maybe money from tech stocks is coming into biotech? SMOD movers fro our Focus List: ADPT, ABOS, AMRX, COGT, DNTH, PTGX, RCUS, and one of our TOP PICKS Xencor (XNCR) up 11% to $16.70 on an ESMO paper to be presented on Advanced Clear Renal Carcinoma.
- Our daily Russell 2000 Model is bullish today. XBI is up 1,45%.
7/16/26 2:20p EDT Momentum easing in SMID cap biotech so just watch XBI,IWM and ARKG for changes.Stick with Healthcare stocks thru earnings as relief from TECH volatility.
7/15/2611:18 am EDT There is bit of “bottom fishing” going on in the US Medical Device sector (IHI). We have done well with a trade in QDEL up over 3% today and off a ridiculous bottom under 10. Today we would focus on ABT and BDX . This year our “holds” also includes BAX ,GEHC and WAT.
7/15/26 3:45 P EDT….SMID cap 2% + movers on our Focused trading list: ADPT, AMRX, COGT, CYRX, GH, PSNL, PTGX, QDEL, VCYT . Major ETFs up about 0.5%.
SMID Biotechs at MID-Year 2026-Big gains But a loss in Momentum
- A bit of a Sell-Off on Friday and again on Monday may curb momentum traders, but the biotech bull market is intact over 3yrs beating the S&P 500.
- Small caps need to continue outperforming in Q3. Many outperforming SMID biotechs are included in Russell 2000 (IWM) up 19.22% YTD.
- Seasonality is a factor at the end of August and usually weaker.
As we wait for Q2 earnings most of the major Life Science ETFs and Funds we track are near the highs of the year. This is pretty much what we expected in our Biotech Model from January 2026. From previous years in bull markets, stocks would run up through mid-summer then take correction at the end of summer, get choppy through Q3 earnings then resume the run till year -end. Bu we have done so well during H1, maybe it’s time to Review and Rebalance before seasonality hits your portfolio. But here is the post we made last week Innovation Drives Gains in Biotech Stocks.
Here is where we are in mid-year 2026:
- Major Life Science ETFs: ARKG at $40.58 up 40% YTD, IBB at $189.55 up 12.3% YTD 3yr 48.5%, XBI $155.32, Up 27.4% YTD, 3yr 85.7%.
- Healthcare ETFs by Sector: XLV at $161.41 up 6.61% YTD, IHI at $51.34, down 10.81% YTD, IHF at $57.33, up 19.92% YTD.
- S&P 500 at. $749.17 up 9.86% YTD, DOW Jones I at $524.47 up 9.13% YTD, NASDAQ-100 QQQ at $711.72 up 15.86%YTD, 3 yr 67.2%.
In January after the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference we posted an article: SMID Biotech Bullish Trends that should continue in an SMID cap, momentum driven market.
Note the following big winners we hold from our Focused SMID biotech trading list in January 20. many of the stocks did well even after a huge year in 2025..There were many other SMID biotechs that were 20%+ winners as well in our portfolios as well but we sold them too soon to rebalance for TECH stocks,
Adaptive Biotechnology( ADPT) at $21, Mkt Cap $3.36B, Perf up 31.7% YTD. 3yr up 185%. e on 7/29.
Guardant Health (GH) at $158.40, Mkt Cap $21B, Perf. up 55% YTD, 3 yr. up 307.8% YTD,
Natera (NTRA) at 272.89, Mkt Cap $39B, Perf YTD up 19.12%, 3 yr.437%
Personalis (PSNL) at $15, Mkt Cap $1.85B,Perf. up 88.94% YTD, 3 yr. up 586% .
Some of our newer picks have done well like Amneal Pharmaceutical (AMRX) at $17 ) up 36% YTD, or And if valuations or volatility are an issue have look at GE Health Care Technologies (GEHC) at $65.31 down 20% YTD. Looking forward to value we even bought a little BAXTER (BAX) at $20.
Will a week or two of selling be enough to take the froth out of the market? Not if we get a few deals in these genomics stocks. The big gains in TECHNOLOGY have come from the semiconductors that fuel the AI trade.The SOXX was off 4.77 % today, but is up 135% over one year., 235% after 2 yrs. Piling on the Korean chip megacap $1B IPO SK Hynix didn’t help down 9.3%. Then add the Trillion dollar SpaceX IPO down % today close to offering price of $135 and you may conclude there isn’t enough money to go around. As one analyst commented about SPCX: “this is the worst allocation of capital ever.” But we’ll see , as there is plenty of ink supporting these megatrends.
What are the alternatives for investing in biotech:
Fidelity Select Biotech (FBIOX) up 13.85% YTD, one year 49.71%.
Johnson and Johnson (JNJ) up 24.56% YTD, one year 65.3%, 3 yr. 61.24%. *this is the new JNJ after restructuring (many spin-offs.)
Abbvie (ABBV) up 8.2% YTD, 29.17% 1 yr, 3 yr 81.8%.
Here is the SECTOR performance for the past week and YTD as provided by STATE STREET SPDR ETFs: with a trend as follows: Energy has been the leader due to the WAR with IRAN infoTECH has been the leader until the past two days, now negative over 5 days.Over the past month Healthcare and Financial have been leaders. Even the weekly trends by sector has been volatile with TECHNOLOGY coming back as leaders every 2 weeks. However many strategists feel that the market is broadening and portfolios need be more diversified. Look for more opportunities for better returns in healthcare because of sheer numbers -a huge TAM, diverse subsegments, and application of AI.