Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

Buying below net cash is quite appealing, provided that the burn rate is modest. I did this on several occasions during the 2001-2002 bear market, and two of the companies I owned were acquired: Exelixis bought Genomica, and Hyseq bought Variagenics (and then renamed the company Nuvelo).

Still, this is not the easiest way to make money, because companies trading below cash generally have little chance to develop a bona fide business. (This was certainly the case with Genomica and Variagenics.) So you have to have a lot of confidence that the B.O.D. will stop the bleeding and sell the company while there is still cash in the bank.