Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and More Big Movers in Healthcare on December 13, 2012

The Nasdaq has decreased 0.4%, the S&P 500 has fallen 0.3% and the Dow is down 0.2% on 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%, underperforming the market overall. The current biggest movers in the sector are:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Infinity Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:INFI)	$1.04 billion	+8.2%
HCA (NYSE:HCA)	$14.53 billion	-6.5%
Synta (Nasdaq:SNTA)	$533 million	+5.1%
United (Nasdaq:UTHR)	$2.65 billion	-3.7%
Charles River (NYSE:CRL)	$1.73 billion	+3.1%
Auxilium Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:AUXL)	$876.4 million	+3%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:REGN)	$17.67 billion	-2.6%

Broker Summary: TD Ameritrade Thinkorswim

Infinity Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:INFI) is currently trading at $28.48 per share, a 8.2% increase. At two million shares, the company's volume so far today is 1.7 times its current three-month average.

After a decline of 6.5%, HCA (NYSE:HCA) has hit a share price of $30.77. The company is trading at a volume of 2.3 million shares. This is on pace to fall short of yesterday's volume of 8.2 million shares.

Rising 5.1%, Synta (Nasdaq:SNTA) is currently trading at $9.05 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 348,997 shares, 0.9 times the average daily volume.

United (Nasdaq:UTHR) is trading at $50.25 per share, down 3.7%. So far today, the company's volume is 374,207 shares.

After an increase of 3.1%, Charles River (NYSE:CRL) has reached a current price of $36.77. The company's volume is currently one million shares for the day, 1.7 times the current three-month average.

Auxilium Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:AUXL) is at $18.34 per share after an increase of 3%. The company's volume for the day so far is 261,196 shares.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:REGN) has fallen 2.6% and is currently trading at $178.30 per share. At 265,843 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.3 times the average daily volume.

The Bottom Line On any given day, a particular stock may see positive or negative change in its share price. Daily stock performance should be weighed against historical performance and put in context of the market overall. Keep in mind that all these ratios should be compared against historical numbers and industry information in order to get a more complete picture.