Genentech Gang Fights Back

Genentech (DNA Quote) has had the wind at its back for the past year, seeing its share price more than double and reaching an all-time high. But in September, the big biotech found the going a little tougher.

From a best close of $94.74 on Sept. 1, the stock began a reversal that saw it drop to $79.86 on Sept. 27, a decline of more than 15% and a level it hadn't touched since late June. Following that close below $80, buyers sensed a bargain, and the stock ended last week above $84.

Genentech's shares have continued rising, and on Tuesday, they were up again, lately by 68 cents to $86.90.

Recent weeks have seen concerns arise over an ongoing patent dispute and the safety of the celebrated cancer drug Avastin. Genentech even found itself up against worries that the aforementioned Avastin could be effective against vision loss, meaning it may ultimately cut into sales of the company's experimental and probably higher-priced vision-loss drug Lucentis.

The majority of Genentech's Wall Street watchers don't seem to think the recent pullback is reason to believe the big run might be losing steam. Of the more than 30 analysts covering Genentech, 20 of them have a form of buy or strong buy rating, according to Thomson First Call. None have sell ratings on the stock, and the median price target is $97.

Next week, Genentech will report its quarterly earnings, and investor sentiment may well hinge on what the company says during the conference call following its profit report. On average, analysts expect the company to earn 30 cents a share on revenue of $1.63 billion for the latest quarter.

"In the spring, most of Genentech's stock price was driven by clinical news," according to Sven Borho, partner at OrbiMed Advisors, a health care fund manager. "Now all eyes are obviously on Avastin and Herceptin."