Today was a tough one for the Big Cap's. Of the ones I follow, only Motorola was up, at 86 1/16 +2 15/16. Look at the casualty list:

For a Dow Industrials and Nasdaq that were down 37 and 21 points respectively, I'd say that was a pretty good spanking. Even though these stocks are great, don't be in a hurry to buy in. For sure, money is shifting out of these stocks, so I expect more down days to come. Many of them have very high P.E.'s, so they will continue to be vulnerable.

In our article of May 18, I said that I might go to the Ligand Pharmaceuticals annual meeting of May 20. Well I didn't go, but I still love this stock.

But all is not lost! You will recall that I have recommended 2 Biotechs, Ligand and Isis Pharmaceuticals, both of which I own. Well, today I went to the Isis annual meeting, and it was an eye-opener.

First let me tell you about Isis (ISIP). What makes this company so promising, is that they are the leader in the use of antisense technology. This is developing into a revolutionary technology, with many advantages. The science is complicated, and I don't pretend to understand it. The general concept is that the genetic code for a disease is mapped out. Antisense technology allows Isis to reverse-print the virus gene codes and home in on a precise section to block it by binding to the gene section which would trigger disease activity. It's like filling the grooves of a key so it no longer works in a lock.

Last August Isis received FDA approval to sell its first antisense drug Vitravene for cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis, an AIDS related eye condition that can cause loss of vision. In fact it is the first antsense drug ever approved by the FDA. Next time we'll tell you about their product pipeline and their collaborators. Their 12 month price range is 7 - 16, and Isis closed today at 10 1/32, down 15/32. For $10 or so, you get a lot of bang for the buck. Stay tuned.

The Market Pro - May 21, 1999