Alexion Pharmaceuticals and Other Big Movers In Healthcare on October 8, 2012

The Nasdaq has fallen 1%, the S&P 500 has declined 0.4% and the Dow is trading down 0.3%, marking a bad morning for the market. The healthcare sector is the category of stocks relating to medical and healthcare goods or services. This sector includes hospital management firms, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), biotechnology and a variety of medical products. Stocks in the healthcare sector are often considered to be defensive because the products and services are essential. Even during economic downturns, people will still require medical aid and medicine to overcome illness. Having a consistent demand for goods and services makes this sector less sensitive to business cycle fluctuations.

The Healthcare sector (XLV) is down 0.4%, outperforming the market overall. Currently, the biggest movers in the sector are:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Questcor Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:QCOR)	$1.16 billion	+7.1%
Sarepta Therapeutics (Nasdaq:SRPT)	$776 million	-5.7%
Schiff Nutrition International (NYSE:SHF)	$714.8 million	-4.6%
Medivation (Nasdaq:MDVN)	$4.31 billion	-3.5%
EXACT (Nasdaq:EXAS)	$740.6 million	+2.8%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:ALXN)	$22.81 billion	-1.9%
VIVUS (Nasdaq:VVUS)	$1.86 billion	+1.9%

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Questcor Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:QCOR) has moved up 7.1% and is currently trading at $20.78 per share. At 3.8 million shares, the company's volume so far today is consistent with its current daily average. Volume indicates the level of interest that investors have in a company at its current price.

Falling 5.7%, Sarepta Therapeutics (Nasdaq:SRPT) is currently at a share price of $32.35. The company's volume for the day so far is 1.9 million shares. This is on pace to fall short of yesterday's volume of 6.8 million shares. If a stock price makes a big move up or down, volume lets us know the significance of that move.

Schiff Nutrition International (NYSE:SHF) is down 4.6% to reach $23.28 per share. At 121,519 shares, the company's volume so far today is 1.2 times its current three-month average. In technical analysis, trading volume is used to determine the strength of a market indicator.

Medivation (Nasdaq:MDVN) is trading at $56.46 per share, down 3.5%. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 273,865 shares. When a stock price moves up or down, watching the volume is a good way of identifying how significant that shift is.

After an increase of 2.8%, EXACT (Nasdaq:EXAS) has reached a current price of $11.96. At 745,832 shares, the company's volume so far today is 1.7 times its current daily average. If a stock is trading on low volume, then there is not much interest in the stock. On the other hand, if a stock is trading on high volume, then there is a lot of interest in the stock.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:ALXN) is currently trading at a share price of $115.88, a 1.9% decline. So far today, the company's volume is 375,595 shares. This is about the same trading activity as there was yesterday. High volume indicates a lot of investor interest while low volume indicates the opposite.

VIVUS (Nasdaq:VVUS) is at $18.89 per share after an increase of 1.9%. The company's volume is currently 743,485 shares for the day, 0.2 times its average over the past three months. Volume is used to evaluate how meaningful the price movement of a stock is.

The Bottom Line No matter the economic climate, Wall Street will always have stocks that make major moves each week. It is important to weigh current activity against historical performance when making any investment decisions. Keep in mind that all these ratios should be compared against historical numbers and industry information in order to get a more complete picture.