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Originally posted by jiesen
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9% is pretty marginal, eh? Of course its better than zero or negative which is what the cubes have returned over that same period. One thing you can try which is better/easier than trying to time the markets is to keep a portion of that fund but add some diversity with other index funds. I'm pretty sure you could do much better than 9% without the hassle of trying to be perfect on your timing, at least that's what I've found. -
I'd take 9% if I could get it every year...
Sure, Tatnic, there are numerous ways to beat 9%, but I have found they are much easier to spot in hindsight. But thanks for the advice, I'm glad to get it. In a way, I am doing just what you are suggesting. By selling half of this position, I'm diversifying my mutual fund holdings, since this was one of the largest of my holdings overall (about 25% of my portfolio is in mutual funds, mostly in chunks of about 2-3% in each). When I reinvest that money, I'll put it back into another fund or stock, which may be similar, but it won't be in the same investment, so I'll have less tied to that one particular fund.Originally posted by Tatnic View Post
Back to the 9% though, that's one of my better-performing funds overall. Most which I've held for a while have appreciated on average between 6-8%, which is just about what typical market returns have been. I'd have done better to just stick it all in an index fund, and avoided paying the 1% fees to the mutual fund managers. And in fact, that's partly what I've started to do. The funds I invest in automatically now through my 401k are mostly either bonds or large-cap funds which will pretty much do what the S&P does.
I know it must sound lame to those of you who can easily beat the market by 5-10% consistently each year, but I know I'm not capable of doing that yet. I'd love to be able to, and that's why I'm here every day trying to learn as much as possible, but I have to be realistic in my expectations. If I could be sure of making 10% every year, I'd be able to retire tomorrow. Heck, I would then just keep borrowing at 7% and pretty soon I'd have more money than I'd ever need.Comment
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bought AMLN at 41.4 (2%)
Added another 2% of AMLN to my portfolio today at 41.4. I'm now up to 4% AMLN.Comment
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Sold NFI for 7.4 (1%)
Sold 1% NFI here at 7.4, bringing my total down to 3% NFI.Comment
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added 1% LJPC at 5.7
bought back 1% LJPC today at 5.7. Will look to pick up a little bit more, too, if this keeps dropping without any news over the next few months. I plan to keep my LJPC at around a 25-30% position for awhile. LJPC's drug approval will make me HUGE!!! (in a few years anyway)Originally posted by jiesen View PostComment
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sold 1% position in mutual funds
sold a 1% position (total) in a couple of mutual funds, which I plan to reinvest back in an S&P-like index fund when the market is about 10% below where it is now. Meantime, I'll sit on the cash and collect my 4%-5% interest.Comment
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Originally posted by jiesen View Post
When do you think that might be?"Trade What Is Happening...Not What You Think Is Gonna Happen"
Find Tomorrow's Winners At SharpTraders.com
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I guess it could be sooner, though...Comment
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LJPC up over 25% in pre-market trading
I'm making some money today!Originally posted by jiesen View Post
(oh, and in case you're interested, NBB, there are options on this one now.)
La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company Reports Riquent(R) Well Tolerated in Three Studies at International Lupus Congress
Thursday May 24, 7:30 am ET
SAN DIEGO, May 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company (Nasdaq: LJPC - News) today announced that it presented three papers related to Riquent® (abetimus sodium), its drug candidate for systemic lupus erythematosus ("lupus" or "SLE") at the 8th International Congress on SLE. The first presentation reviewed recently announced safety and interim antibody data from the current Phase 3 study which highlighted the definitive and significant dose response observed between the 100 mg, 300 mg and 900 mg doses of Riquent compared with placebo (p=0.0001). The second presentation reviewed the safety and drug levels of Riquent at doses up to 2400 mg in healthy volunteers and the third, cardiovascular safety in healthy volunteers.
"These three presentations provide important, additional data that continue to indicate that Riquent is well tolerated even at much higher doses," said Deirdre Y. Gillespie, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company. "Unlike other medications currently used to treat lupus that can severely suppress the immune system and can result in serious infections, Riquent is highly specific and designed not to suppress the healthy functions of the immune system. We believe that Riquent has the potential to be highly efficacious and well-tolerated -- it is designed to specifically target and reduce antibodies to double-stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) that are believed to cause lupus renal disease."
Interim Antibody Data
Michael Tansey, M.D., Ph.D., the Company's Chief Medical Officer, presented on Thursday, May 24, 2007, a detailed review of the recently announced interim antibody reduction data from the current international Phase 3 clinical trial of Riquent in a talk entitled: "Effect of Three Doses of Abetimus and Placebo on ds-DNA Antibodies in Patients with SLE and a History of Renal Flare -- An Interim Analysis."
In the talk, Dr. Tansey highlighted data supporting the dose response observed between the 100 mg, 300 mg and 900 mg doses of Riquent compared with placebo (p=0.0001). The reductions in median antibody levels between the Riquent treatment groups and the placebo treatment group at week 8 were 100 mg: 30%; 300 mg: 40%; 900 mg: 58% (p=0.0032, p<0.0001, p<0.0001, respectively). To date, the adverse event profile for all patients in the study, including those treated with the 300 mg and 900 mg doses, does not appear to differ from that seen in previous studies, where only 100 mg of Riquent was the treatment dose.
Riquent Drug Levels and Safety at Higher Doses
In addition to Dr. Tansey's talk, the Company presented two posters detailing data from previously completed clinical safety studies of Riquent. The first poster, "Safety and Pharmacokinetic Assessment of Abetimus Sodium in Healthy Volunteers," evaluated the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of Riquent at doses up to 2400 mg in healthy male and female volunteers. Riquent was well tolerated at all doses. As seen with many DNA-containing drugs, Riquent treatment was associated with a dose-dependent increase in activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), but not prothrombin time (PT), which was not considered clinically significant.
Electrocardiographic Safety
The second poster presentation, "Electrocardiographic Safety Assessment of Abetimus Sodium in Healthy Volunteers," summarized cardiovascular safety assessments including the potential to increase QT wave prolongation following Riquent treatment at doses of 100 mg and 300 mg. Studies to evaluate the potential of a new drug to increase QT wave prolongation are standard safety assessments of most drugs in development. The data demonstrated no effect of abetimus on changes in QT wave prolongation from baseline. In this study, Riquent was well tolerated and the incidence of adverse events was similar in the placebo, 100 mg and 300 mg groups. In addition, patients exhibited no serious adverse events, and no subject discontinued the study.
About Riquent
Riquent is being developed to specifically treat lupus renal disease by preventing or delaying renal flares, a leading cause of sickness and death in lupus patients. Riquent has been well tolerated in all 13 clinical trials, with no serious Riquent-related side effects identified to date. Riquent's only known biological activity is the reduction of circulating levels of anti-dsDNA antibodies. Increases in these antibodies are associated with an increased risk of renal flare. Although clinical benefit has not yet been proven, Riquent treatment has significantly reduced these antibody levels in all clinical trials where they were measured.
About Lupus
Lupus is a chronic, potentially life-threatening autoimmune disease. About 90% of lupus patients are female, and many are diagnosed with the disease during their childbearing years. Approximately 50% of lupus patients have renal disease, which can lead to irreversible renal damage, renal failure and the need for dialysis, and is a leading cause of death in lupus patients. Latinos, African Americans and Asians face an increased risk of serious renal disease associated with lupus. The current standard of care for lupus renal disease often involves treatment with high doses of corticosteroids and immunosuppressive drugs that can cause severe side effects including diabetes, hypertension and sterility, and may leave patients vulnerable to opportunistic infections. To date, no lupus specific drug has been approved in the U.S.
About La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company
La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company is dedicated to improving and preserving human life by developing innovative pharmaceutical products. The Company's leading product in development is Riquent®. The Company has also developed small molecules to treat various other autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. The Company's common stock is traded on The NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol LJPC. More information about the Company is available on its Web site: http://www.ljpc.com.Comment
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more good news for GPRO! (and me)
FDA Approves Gen-Probe's Automated PROCLEIX(R) TIGRIS(R) System to Test Donated Blood With the PROCLEIX ULTRIO(R) Assay
Thursday May 24, 4:02 pm ET
SAN DIEGO, May 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gen-Probe Incorporated (Nasdaq: GPRO - News) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Company's PROCLEIX® TIGRIS® system, the first fully automated molecular diagnostics instrument, for use with the PROCLEIX ULTRIO® assay.
"This approval represents another important milestone in the growth of our blood testing business," said Henry L. Nordhoff, Gen-Probe's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "With the PROCLEIX ULTRIO assay on the PROCLEIX TIGRIS system, customers can safeguard donated blood against dangerous viruses using a fully automated, high-throughput system that maximizes the efficiency of testing and minimizes the potential for human error."
Gen-Probe's blood screening products are marketed worldwide by Chiron, a business unit of Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, Inc.
The PROCLEIX TIGRIS system was approved with the PROCLEIX ULTRIO assay to screen donated blood, plasma, organs and tissue for HIV-1 and hepatitis C virus (HCV) in individual blood donations or in pools of up to 16 blood samples. The system and assay also detect hepatitis B virus (HBV) in blood donations that are HBV-positive based on traditional serology tests for HBV surface antigen and core antibodies. As expected, the system and assay have not been approved at this time to screen donated blood for HBV, as the initial clinical studies were not designed to, and did not, demonstrate HBV "yield." Yield is defined as HBV-infected blood donations that were intercepted by the PROCLEIX ULTRIO assay, but that were initially negative based on the serology tests. Gen-Probe and Chiron have initiated a post-marketing study to demonstrate HBV yield and gain the associated donor screening claim.
The fully automated, high-throughput PROCLEIX TIGRIS system can process 1,000 blood samples in about 14 hours, a level of productivity that facilitates testing in smaller pool sizes, which in turn can increase assay sensitivity and blood safety.
In October of 2006, the FDA granted marketing approval for the PROCLEIX ULTRIO assay to run on the Company's semi-automated instrument system. Like the approval announced today, the assay was approved to screen donated blood, plasma, organs and tissue for HIV-1 and HCV in individual blood donations or in pools of up to 16 blood samples, and to detect the presence of HBV.
In March of 2007, the FDA approved another Gen-Probe test, the PROCLEIX WNV (West Nile virus) assay, to screen donated blood on the TIGRIS system.
In addition, Novartis announced last week that Health Canada had approved the PROCLEIX WNV assay for use on the PROCLEIX TIGRIS System.
Trademarks
PROCLEIX and ULTRIO are trademarks of Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, Inc. TIGRIS is a trademark of Gen-Probe.
About Gen-Probe
Gen-Probe Incorporated is a global leader in the development, manufacture and marketing of rapid, accurate and cost-effective nucleic acid tests (NATs) that are used primarily to diagnose human diseases and screen donated human blood. Gen-Probe has more than 20 years of NAT expertise, and received the 2004 National Medal of Technology, America's highest honor for technological innovation, for developing NAT assays for blood screening. Gen-Probe is headquartered in San Diego and employs approximately 1,000 people. For more information, go to www.gen-probe.com.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements in this press release about Gen-Probe's expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not historical facts and are forward-looking statements. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as believe, will, expect, anticipate, estimate, intend, plan and would. For example, statements concerning new products, clinical trials, potential regulatory approvals and customer adoption are all forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. They involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement. Some of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from estimates or projections contained in the forward-looking statements include but are not limited to: (i) the risk that the post-marketing study for the PROCLEIX ULTRIO assay will not be successful, (ii) the risk that additional claims for the PROCLEIX ULTRIO assay and the PROCLEIX TIGRIS system will not be granted in the timeframes we expect, if at all, (iii) the risk that we may not earn or receive milestone payments from our collaborators, (iv) the possibility that the market for the sale of our new products, such as our PROCLEIX ULTRIO assay, PROCLEIX WNV assay and PROCLEIX TIGRIS system, may not develop as expected, (v) we may not be able to compete effectively, (vi) we may not be able to maintain our current corporate collaborations and enter into new corporate collaborations or customer contracts, and (vii) we are dependent on Chiron and other third parties for the distribution of some of our products. The foregoing describes some, but not all, of the factors that could affect our ability to achieve results described in any forward-looking statements. For additional information about risks and uncertainties we face and a discussion of our financial statements and footnotes, see documents we file with the SEC, including our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and all subsequent periodic reports. We assume no obligation and expressly disclaim any duty to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news release or to reflect the occurrence of subsequent events.
Contact: Michael Watts Sr. director, investor relations and corporate communications 858-410-8673
Source: Gen-Probe IncorporatedComment
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Hey Jiesen, congrats on your recent marathon completion.
Hide not your talents.
They for use were made.
What's a sundial in the shade?
- Benjamin FranklinComment
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26.2 is good for you
Thanks, Peanuts! I met my goal of beating last year's time by an hour, but missed my stretch goal of qualifying for Boston by 7 minutes. Doh! I think my legs had a stop-loss set for 24 miles that I didn't know about.Originally posted by peanuts View PostHey Jiesen, congrats on your recent marathon completion.
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