401K Update

Here’s the current make up of my 401K retirement plan. I’ve actually increased my contribution to 20% from 18% of my gross pay. In January I lowered my 401k contribution all the way down to 6% just to take advantage of the maximum company match, but I noticed the net take home pay didn’t increase much. A lot of my pay just went straight to taxes so I decided to crank it all the way up to 20%. It’s a bit painful, but it’s nice to see the $$$ growing in the retirement account…

Genzyme - All Aboard, Taking Off...

Genzyme Corp. (Ticker: GENZ) released very strong Q2 results yesterday. The company reported revenues of $883.2 million and earnings per share of $0.78 per share, which beat the street expectations. The company also raised guidance for the year to $3.20 – 3.30 per share. It was just a strong quarter all around! This is currently my largest position making up close to 30% of my total portfolio (including retirement account). I will slowly pair down this position throughout the year since I will need some money for a condo down payment. I am not selling any right here; it’s just way too cheap. Here’s a weekly chart of Genzyme and you can see that it’s just beginning to make its move up.

Bad Trade

I’m still trying to get over my bone head trade in Volcano Corp (Ticker: VOLC). I did my research, but sold too early for a small gain (see previous post). All the indications were pointing to a higher stock price. I checked the stock price on Wednesday, 4/11, and it was starting to break out on strong volume in a weak market. I got a bit worried about the market and got shaken out of this position. A novice mistake! This was a sign of a strong stock! This stock represented a tiny position (less than 1%) in my portfolio, but the fact that I didn’t follow my game plan was / is frustrating. Even though I made money on this trade, I still consider it to be one of my worse trades this year. I need to get my mind back into the trading zone once again.

Another Small Trade

I made another small transaction this past week. On Wednesday, 4/11, I sold my small position in Volcano Corp. (Ticker: VOLC) at $18.85 yielding a net gain of 3.36% over a two-week period. I wanted to build up some cash. There’s nothing wrong with the company and in fact I sold too early. The stock is just starting to break out. I just have to let this one go…

Lots of Biotech News

This is shaping up to be a busy week for biotech investors. Tomorrow, Genentech (Ticker: DNA) will be reporting Q1 earnings after the bell. Everyone is looking for in line numbers of $0.67 per share and $2.74 billion in revenues, but beating the numbers will be nice. This Saturday is the start of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) conference out in LA. So look for news coming out of the conference. And finally, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Ticker: VRTX) will be announcing on Saturday night phase II results on their hepatitis C treatment at European Association for the Study of the Liver. So everyone, place your bets...