ViaCell (VIAC)

Company

ViaCell is a biotechnology company focused on enabling the widespread use of human cells as medicine. The Company is developing a pipeline of proprietary stem cell product candidates intended to address cancer, cardiac disease, and diabetes. CB001, its lead cord blood derived stem cell therapy product candidate, is being developed for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients affected by a variety of cancers. (Company does not appear to have a website. What's up with that?)

Buy

15-Nov-05. ViaCell's stock has been on a roller-coaster during its short history (see sidebar). However, VIAC will be included in the Nasdaq bio-tech index beginning 21-Nov, and that will surely stimulate additional buying.

• Price momentum (PPO) — sharply accelerating
• Trend (ADX) — strengthening after a long decline, and buying pressure (+DI) has crossed decisively above selling pressure (-DI)
• Money flow (CMF) — has gone from strongly negative to positive
• Relative strength (RSI) — increasing sharply
• Volume — daily volumes up in the past week

Sell

23-Jan-06. Viacell has been giving off mixed signals for several weeks. On the one hand, the trend (ADX) was losing strength, but on the other hand, price momentum (PPO) was picking up, and money flow (CMF) was becoming more positive. Another encouraging sign was that trading generally stayed above the 50-day moving average.

My optimism about VIAC was shattered last week, however, by several down days, slowing of price momentum (PPO), weakening relative strength (RSI), and stagnating money flow (CMF). When VIAC continued to fall this morning below the lower Bollinger band, I decided to bail.

I can't help but think VIAC has been hurt by the scandal surrounding stem cell research in Korea.