BIORUNUP a very new paid service, not easy to review
Mike Havrilla has a tremendous background in biotech/pharmaceutical and gives depth to a formula that many biotech traders use: easing into a position prior to a specific event and hoping to minimize the risk of dilution by entering into companies that have cash. Sadly, some companies that are close to a perceived approval begin to need cash again for manufacturing and so the risk of dilution is a constant.
Mark is less well known, having entered some trades on a public twitter and managing them quite well, with his plan to exit before the FDA event. Mark seems to have a promotional gene that few on twitter display: it's a good thing for his service. He began Biorunup before Mike's association and works very hard to enrich the experience with a forum, daily emails, a private twitter feed, SMS alerts, in depth reviews of some biotech.
I began by saying how difficult this review is for me: it certainly is. I've done biotech both on my own, using Adam Feurstein's reports as a starting place and periodically a subscriber of Shark Biotech (very deep articles, very understanding of biotech) and Mark's public twitter feed was certainly friendly.Happy to subscribe, very nice that Mike is there and that they continue to enrich the site. They are usually involved with maybe six or seven stocks at a time, sometimes buying calls in addition to stock; sometimes puts.
The thing that they have not addressed is the issue of front running. No more so than any twitter trader or paid service with a few thousand followers but Mark and Mike notify during market hours through the private twitter feed: delivery is not immediate with twitter’s many issues. The sells are made before notifying the paid followers. Please note that this does not universally bother subscribers: many, perhaps most, are exceedingly happy. From time to time Mark issues public tweets of his trades: again, that may bother very few subscribers -but that is something that smacks of promotion or stock pumping in a bad way. My hope is that while they manage their personal trading accounts, they find better ways to send trading alerts to subscribers. There’s several valid ways that don’t immediately spike the price. Happy they do well but in my opinion a subscription service must be for the benefit of the subscriber base first.
Mark and Mike send relatively frequent tweets promoting the service: it's a business that they take seriously and I can't see why that would upset anyone. I was surprised in a disappointed way at the recent announcement that they will begin a new service, BioRunDown. Hmmmm. Not liking that a bit but their business choice. Effectively and ironically, the original paid BioRunUp service is now being diluted.
I do appreciate the entrepreneurial spirit: DVD's, books, Tshirts and soon two paid services instead of the one.
I'm very surprised that very obvious (to me) trades are ignored. ITMN was not part of the recommendations and yet was an obvious stock to watch. Having been in for the first runup from 13 to 38 (it had run to the 40's) and then watching in horror as it returned to 13, I picked up a few April '11 calls. Much to my surprise, the European Review sent it skyrocketing from 13 to 38 again. The exact timing of a large run up was the only surprise. Calls were dirt cheap and really paid off.
HGSI is another that no work has been done on with its FDA date of March 10 and its unique likelihood of approval with black boxes. Because it's the only possible new drug in fifty years, it would be highly likely to have a run up. DCTH at 5.00 yelled to be picked up.
I don’t find the price expensive or inexpensive for a beginning service: it is what it is. While many features and now products have been added, I do think that more biotech must be covered to sustain good growth. My hope is that Mike steps that part up with his unique and valuable expertise. I cannot say enough good things about Mike’s background and sort of intuitive sense of biotech trading.
The point is that for many people the service is sufficient to make a lot of money, with just the usual risks of biotech. For traders who regularly swing biotech, it's a good supplement but not enough. It is, in fairness, for Mike who has amazing verified returns.
Some traders would be uncomfortable handling more than five at a time and others, like me, equally uncomfortable at not having a basket with a minimum of ten or twelve to avoid the catastrophe of a blowup on one or two in a light basket.
I would certainly recommend this as a resource: a good supplement to a well-rounded biotech trader's list.
It’s a very new service with two very smart energized men working on it full time. Because they continue to implement good changes to the site, I hope that they will iron out the issues that are important to the subscribers and continually add coverage beyond the handful that wish to personally trade.
This review is the subjective opinion of an Investimonials member and not of Investimonials LLC
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