It's often said the stock market can deal with anything but uncertainty, but uncertainty is about all the U.S. stock market has to feed on these days - and that has translated into raging volatility and huge swings in both the major market indexes and the prices of many individual stocks.
Day-to-day swings of 250 or 300 points are becoming almost commonplace - and the direction those swings will take is an ever-growing mystery.
Just look at the Dow Jones Industrial Average as a case in point. Since late February, the Dow has climbed from 10,325.26 to an intraday high of 11,258.01 (on April 26), plummeted to an intraday low of 9,869.62 during the May 6 "flash crash," rallied back to 10,896.91 on May 12, dived to just 9,774.48 during the day on May 25, closed below 10,000 for several days in early June, and vaulted back up above 10,170 at the market's close on Thursday.
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Markman on the Markets: Cytori Therapeutics Up 40% and Headed Higher
On Dec. 21, 2009, we introduced Cytori Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: CYTX) to Money Morning readers as a "special situation" stock worthy of consideration. The stock has surged more than 40% since then.
A big reason for that move was that the company received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to start marketing a product called PureGraft that prepares a patient's fat tissue for reinjection into the body for cosmetic procedures. Technically, this was what the industry calls a 510(k) clearance, which is the equivalent, for medical devices, of clearing Phase III trials for a drug.
So, what exactly is PureGraft and why is it so important? For those questions, I turned to one of my sources on the company, an investor and analyst who asked not to be identified.
A big reason for that move was that the company received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to start marketing a product called PureGraft that prepares a patient's fat tissue for reinjection into the body for cosmetic procedures. Technically, this was what the industry calls a 510(k) clearance, which is the equivalent, for medical devices, of clearing Phase III trials for a drug.
So, what exactly is PureGraft and why is it so important? For those questions, I turned to one of my sources on the company, an investor and analyst who asked not to be identified.