SQNM Surges on Positive Test Data

I've been watching Sequenom Inc (NasdaqGM: SQNM) since early June and since then the stock has run from below $10 into the $20 range.

The stock took off again pre-market today, gaining nearly 20%, or $4 on news that wides-cale tests for its pre-natal Down Syndrome test were a smashing success and will likely be launched during the first half of '09.

SQNM appears to have what will soon be become the industry standard test in a multi-billion dollar global marketplace. The stock has already shattered most analyst's aggressive price targets and will probably move higher leading up to initial shipments hitting the marketplace. Man, I wish I listened to myself and accumulated in the $5 -$10 range.

Quest is off and Running

Even in these trying economic times, Outcast Trader continues to conjure up a number of very profitable investment ideas. Over the past two months, (OTCBB: QMNM), (Nasdaq: SQNM) and (Nasdaq: QTWW), have all given subscribers something to cheer about.

Quest Ready to Run Again

After our alert a few weeks back, Quest Minerals and Mining Corp. (OTCBB: QMNM) gained 4431.25% on roughly 643,000,000 shares traded between 6/18 and 6/23. Shares hit a 52-week high of $.075, a MAJOR increase from a measely .0016 close just days before. Coal is becoming a very hot commodity today given the current global energy crisis and Quest is now producing it with plans to soon move its second mine into full swing.

As I mentioned previously, every $1,000 invested in QMNM at 6/18's closing price of $.0016 would have made you nearly $43,000 in profits if you sold out around the high print of $.075. With all of the volume in the stock, I’m guessing many of you did. Subsequent to today's production announcement, shares gained over 100% hitting an intra-day high of $.048 before closing up 42% at $.0339 on volume of 133,921,767. An interesting thing to note, today's news did not hit the wire until roughly 2:30 EST. Only an hour and a half left in the trading day. From that point, QMNM traded over 100,000,000 shares! Now that is impressive! Wednesday's pullback could have created a very nice entry point for those willing to bet on another run-up. The horses are running and lately QMNM has been the track favorite.

SQNM Ran From $9.33 to $16.89

We first introduced Sequenom Inc (NasdaqGM: SQNM) on 6/4 at $9.33 per share. The stock then ran up to a 6 year high of $15.2 on 6/13. This past Monday, shares dipped to a recent low of $13.28 before setting a new 52-Week high of $16.89 Wednesday on 4.3M shares, the highest volume in 8 days.

The company’s non-invasive prenatal Down Syndrome test blew away the competition in a sample size of 201 and is now being tested on a larger population. Success in this stage of testing will likely allow them to take a large share of a $1 billion dollar market.

The stock has already shattered many analysts’ lofty price targets.

Elemer Piror from Rodman & Renshaw saw his bullish $13.50 target get shattered over the past two weeks. In addition, Charles Butler at Lehman brothers upped his target a few weeks back to $12. Don’t get me wrong, these guys are good and both quite confident in the company’s test becoming the industry norm. Even Oppenheimer and Co. analyst Kevin DeGeeter’s expectation of 17.50; which seemed extremely high just a few weeks ago, could become laughable if wide scale test results match those of the 201 sample population.

TWW Has More Than Doubled Since Our First Mention

Since we first brought you Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: QTWW) on May 11th at a price of $1.28, the stock more than doubled and now trades at $2.47, $.48 off of its 52-Week high of $2.98 hit on 6/9. The company is building a diverse portfolio of alternative energy businesses with a strong focus on the hydrogen and solar industries. Don’t forget, shares were trading at their 52-week low of $.37 on 1/18 and have appreciated more than 700%.

As business picks up, I suggest watching this one closely. As I have stated previously, this is one of the best small-cap growth stories I have come across this year. QTWW just goes to show that the proverbial "5-bagger" is quite possible in the penny stock world. You just have to know where to look.

So, there you have it. Three big winners in less than two months. For tomorrow, I suggest watching QMNM very closely. As I mentioned before, word of the company producing coal could fuel another major run-up in the stock. Until next time, folks.

SQNM Hits 6 Year High Then Retreats To $14.40

Sequenom Inc (NasdaqGM: SQNM) hit is 6 year high of $15.25 on Friday and continues to thrive in the market on expectations that the company has developed what will soon become the standard test for Down syndrome.

I first mentioned this company at a price of $9.33 on 6/4. Since then we have seen shares run up nearly 65% on much higher volume than in the weeks prior.

SQNM pulled back a bit today to $14.40 on nearly 2 million shares traded after bouncing off of an intra-day low of $13.89.

Here is another good read on Down Syndrome testing:

SNQM Up 38% or $3.51 Since 6/4

Sequenom Inc (NasdaqGM: SQNM) shares continue to surge on news that the company's core product could soon become the standard process in the $1billion Down syndrome testing market.

The Street appears pretty confident that SQNM has an ace in the hole here with its Down's test.

Oppenheimer and Co. analyst Kevin DeGeeter recently set a 17.50 price target on the stock and he could be right on if momentum continues to build.

SQNM Up For a 3rd Consecutive Day

Sequenom Inc. (Nasdaq - SQNM) shares advanced another $.72 or 6.5% on Friday on a 3rd straight day of above-average volume (2.8M shares traded).

Here's a good read on the need for Down Syndrome testing:

SQNM Up Big Again Today

Sequenom Inc. (Nasdaq - SQNM) shares advanced again on Thursday, gaining $1.82 or 19.51% after a $1.67 increase on Wednesday. As we mentioned yesterday, the company's prenatal Down syndrome test was 100% successful in a test population of 200 samples with zero false negatives.

Current testing options have a detection rate of between 70 percent and 90 percent, with false-positive rates as high as 5 percent. Now planning to conduct studies with thousands of test samples, if SQNM receives results similar to those of the 200 sample study, the company could soon come to dominate the $1billion Down syndrome testing market.

Analyst estimates on SQNM's future share price are quite bullish to date and in my opinion this deal is a gamble, albeit not a major one. If the company’s test works on the larger sample size and becomes the market leader over the next year or two, estimates will likely be right on target or even low.

If not, SQNM’s current accumulated deficit of $490.7 million and dire need of capital to fuel the push behind it's noninvasive circulating cell-free fetal (ccff) nucleic acid SEQureDx(TM) Technology will cause some serious dilution and other financial worries going forward and bring things back to the company’s expensive drawing board.

Now trading at roughly 10X trailing twelve month sales - just about the same as competitor Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) with a $4.5B market cap – SQNM is quite intriguing at current levels given the fact that the company will soon find out definitively if its landmark product line will be king of a $1billion market.

If SQNM can achieve 20%-30% penetration of the Down syndrome test market by the end of 2009, which the company anticipates having enough capital to fund operations until, and bring revenues into the $300 million range, the future outlook is incredibly positive.

For now, the $12 question remains, will SQNM’s core product line stand up to large-scale tests and become the industry standard process for Down syndrome testing? If you think the answer is yes. Do your homework and do it quick before share price reflects analyst's very optimistic outlooks. This could prove to be a $10 per share lay-up if everything works out here folks. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Sequenom Inc Could Have Standard Test For Down Syndrome

Sequenom Inc (NasdaqGM: SQNM) shares gained $1.67 or 21.8% Wednesday on news that the genetic analysis product manufacturer's prenatal test used to detect Down syndrome in a mother's blood was successful in 200 out of 200 samples with zero false positives in a recent study.

According to the company, "current testing options have a detection rate of between 70 percent and 90 percent, with false-positive rates as high as 5 percent." The company now plans to expand the sample size of the study by a few thousand participants and push for the process becoming the industry standard in detection.

Currently trading at $9.33, analysts agree that successful wider-scale testing should translate into a much higher share price going forward. Here's a sampling of recent analyst sentiment:

Oppenheimer and Co. - Kevin DeGeeter - Bullish - Outperform - 17.50 price target - Sentiment: if the results are repeated in the larger study, the SEQureDX test could become the front-line test in a market he values at between $1 billion and $1.5 billion.

Rodman & Renshaw - Elemer Piros - Bullish - Market Outperform - $13.50 price target - Sentiment: the Sequenom test could replace current methods that use several markers to obtain results.

Lehman Brothers - Charles Butler -Bulish - increased price target $1 to $12 - Sentiment: Test is a significant improvement over current testing procedures.

Although $9 per share is a far cry from many of the small cap ideas typically discussed on this site, the potential payoff here certainly warrants a closer look. In future editions we'll look deeper into Sequenom Inc and its future potential. We suggest that you do the same.