Why Investors Should Pay Attention To The 27th Annual Piper Jaffray Healthcare Conference

With all of the wild price fluctuations in the biotechnology sector coupled with mega-mergers in the healthcare sector, how can investors make better decisions in this confusing arena?

Besides doing their homework on upcoming trials and FDA decisions, along with keeping an eye on the merger rumor mill, they can devote some time to 27th Annual Piper Jaffray Healthcare conference being held Tuesday and Wednesday in New York.

Over the course of the two day event, several well-established companies such as Shire PLC (ADR) SHPG will present, as well as other lesser-known and not-as-established firms.

One of the newer issues to be presenting is SeaSpine Holdings Corp SPNE. The company focuses on surgical solutions for the treatment of spinal disorders. The issue ended its first day of trading (July 1) at $19.11, spiked to $26 on its second day of trading, then quickly sold off to $15. It has spent the last few months trading above and below the $16 level.

With our aging population spinal disorders or back problems becoming more prevalent, does the company have current products or new ones in the pipeline that will be used for treatment?

Previous Conferences

One winner from last year's conference was Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. MRTX. The targeted oncology company develops oncology therapeutics for precisely defined patient populations, and has performed quite well since last year's conference.

When it completed its presentation on December 2, 2014, the issue ended the trading session at $14.32. That was over $2 lower than it debut on Wall Street on December 2013, when it ended its first day of trading at $16.75.

In mid-September it spiked to $52 after the company showed clinical efficacy with confirmed responses to NSCLC patients with MET, AXL gene amplifications. Since reaching that level, a 2.25 million secondary offering at $45 in mid-September created a large overhead supply at that level and below.

Although it is hard to determine who will be the winners and loser from this year's conference, investors certainly get some valuable information on several companies in this confusing and volatile sector.

Joel Elconin is the co-host of Benzinga's #PreMarket Prep, a daily trading idea radio show.

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