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They said it couldn't last-and they were right.
After soaring to unprecedented heights over the past three months, biotechnology stocks have come crashing to earth. A March 14 selloff drove the Amex Biotech Index down 13.2 percent in one day, while the Nasdaq Biotech Index dropped 12.5 percent.
Pundits dubbed the drubbing "Bloody Tuesday," a nickname that didn't even last the week.
When markets opened March 20, biotech bears chased Nasdaq's index down an additional 10.6 percent, erasing the mild recovery that had begun in preceding sessions. The day was quickly tagged "Bloody Monday."
Though that was followed by another mild uptick, it's still too soon to say how skittish investors will react.
Experts agree, however, that the correction indicates many recent biotech investors don't quite understand what the market's all about.
Panic buttons pushed
The March 14 dumping was sparked by comments from President Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair urging open access to genomic information, which researchers are gathering to better understand the workings of human DNA.
Investors widely misinterpreted the statement as a sign that governments would prevent genomics companies from patenting and profiting from their work. As a result, stock in such...