3SOF

= update = strut1702, I posted my comments on the SmartMoney article below.

What will be significant is premarket trading activity just before the market open on Monday after traders had a chance to examine the "real" issue behind the article over the weekend.  (read my comments below)

Good evening,

As to Wednesday afternoon's drop, what I have suspected all along is that GNBT may be target of many hedge/mutual fund managers.  Their large volume buys/sells will have volatile influence on a popular stock's price. 

As I posted last year and last night on this MB thread, many may "artifically" manipulate the stock's price so it can be bought at lower prices.  Will the "average" individual retail stock traders like us know if that's the case?  We may never know what really happens when such large buy/sell requests go out to brokerage houses.

As to today's GNBT's intraday activities, another day of strong rebounding gains after Wednesday's afternoon drop.  GNBT gained $0.23 (6.59%) and closed strong as it gained on Friday afternoon's trading session when traders close out their trades often pushing stock prices down.  26 million shares were traded with 3 month average volume of 9.9 million.

I believe as long as MACD remains in the positive territory, GNBT will sustain the gain.

Quote from: LiveLife on March 24, 2006, 08:19:32 PM
Perhaps someone on the MB's can shed some light on what happened in afterhour trading.

THe manipulation???  It was a reaction to this article:
http://yahoo.smartmoney.com/undertheradar/index.cfm?story=20060324&afl=yahoo

For the Birds


By Lawrence Carrel  Published: March 24, 2006
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Here's a weekly look at some small-capitalization stocks that are making big moves on Wall Street.

AS FEARS RISE THAT avian influenza will erupt into a world-wide pandemic, so too have risen shares of tiny biotechs that purport to be developing treatments for the disease. All are unproven, yet that doesn't seem to be deterring investors from loading up on the stocks every time the words "bird flu" appear in a headline or show up in a press release.

"There are some stocks that go up because the smart money realizes that the dumb money will buy when certain news events happen," says Peter Cohan, president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management-consulting and venture-capital firm in Marlborough, Mass., "and this looks like one of those times."

There's no denying that the H5N1 strain of avian flu is highly contagious among poultry. Its presence can decimate entire flocks. According to the World Health Organization, 186 people have come down with avian flu over the past three years; 105 of those died from it. The disease, which can spread from birds to people, hasn't been shown to be transmittable from human to human. Scientists fear that could change as the virus mutates; thus, the worry of a global outbreak. Until recently limited to Asia, avian flu has now been detected in Africa and Europe.

Several small-capitalization biotechnology companies have jumped on the avian-flu bandwagon, much to the delight of shareholders. The likes of Novavax (NVAX: 7.51, +0.23, +3.2%), BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (BCRX: 18.74, +0.04, +0.2%), AVI Biopharma (AVII: 6.65, -0.15, -2.2%), Hemispherx Biopharma (HEB: 3.78, +0.24, +6.8%) and Generex Biotechnology (GNBT: 3.72, +0.23, +6.6%) have seen their stock prices double, triple or more over the past year. None has an avian-flu treatment that's even close to Food and Drug Administration approval.

Among them, Novavax is perhaps closest to delivering a viable product. The Malvern, Pa., company received a grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health in 2001 to develop an avian-flu vaccine. In September 2005, Novavax's experimental vaccine created an immune response in mice during a preclinical trial. On Tuesday, it presented more preclinical data at the World Vaccine Congress in Washington, D.C.

"Our vaccine dose response experiment was shown to elicit a robust protective immune response at a low dose, single-innoculation and no adjuvant," says Rick Bright, Novavax's vice president of vaccine research. The biotech is currently conducting its final preclinical trial and plans to start clinical trials this fall.

In a rarity among avian-flu plays, Novavax is profitable thanks to its two estrogen replacement therapies on the market, Estrasorb and Gynodiol.

At the other end of the spectrum is Generex. It has no approved products on the market. For the six months ended Jan. 31, the Canadian company brought in revenue of $87,500. Its loss for the period nearly doubled year-over-year to $23.4 million. And for the past year, Generex hasn't been able to pay off its debt.

Despite the financial struggles, Generex saw its shares surge 320% year-to-date (through Thursday) and 546% over the past 12 months. Not bad for a stock that faces the threat of delisting. In July, its auditors also expressed "substantial doubt" about the company's ability to continue as a going concern given its losses, negative cash flow from operations and dearth of working capital.

"An investor should say, even though Generex is losing money now in a few years it will make so much money it's worth [seven times] more now than a year ago," says Cohan, the venture capitalist. "I can't see any basis for that forecast. The reason it's going up is because there is a class of investor that will buy it whenever bird flu is mentioned in the news."

Generex's Antigen subsidiary is developing an avian-flu vaccine, which wasn't even mentioned in the company's annual report for fiscal 2005 (ended July 31). But according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing related to its fiscal second-quarter ended Jan. 31, the vaccine is in preclinical development. Trials in humans aren't expected for at least six months.

Antigen, which Generex acquired in August 2003, is no stranger to diseases du jour. It claims to be working on treatments for breast cancer, prostate cancer, HIV, smallpox, melanoma and severe acute respiratory syndrome, better known as SARS, in addition to avian flu. Antigen's most advanced indication, a breast-cancer vaccine, is currently in a Phase I trial.

Despite a decline in R&D spending, Generex continues to fund an aggressive public-relations campaign. Just about every other week for the past six months it has posted a press release related to its avian-flu vaccine. Some announcements were consequential; most weren't. On Nov. 2, Generex issued a press release saying it would make a presentation at a scientific conference. On Nov. 4 another press release relayed that the company had, in fact, made the presentation.

Percent increase for Novavax, BioCryst Pharmaceutical, AVI Biopharma, Hemispherx Biopharma and Generex Biotechnology over the last year.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Page 1 | 2   

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Under the Radar Archive

Under the Radar

For the Birds


By Lawrence Carrel  Published: March 24, 2006
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(Page 2 of 2)

Birds of a Feather
Other beneficiaries of avian-flu hysteria face equally formidable uphill climbs. BioCryst, up 295% over the past year, has nine drug candidates, with its most advanced, a leukemia treatment, in Phase II trials. Peramivir, its influenza inhibitor that's being tested on avian flu, recently won fast-track approval from the FDA. It just entered a Phase I trial. AVI Biopharma saw a 155% surge these past 52 weeks. It deals in what are called antisense drugs that have shown effectiveness in binding to genetic material to prevent viruses from propagating. AVI's experimental treatment, NeuGene, has been shown in preclinical testing to be effective against all strains of influenza A, including seasonal flus. AVI spokesman Michael Hubbard says NeuGene is moving into Phase I safety trials on humans later this year.

Hemispherx makes Alferon N, an FDA-approved treatment for genital warts. But it's the biotech's interferon inducer, Ampligen, that makes it a candidate against avian flu. For the past 10 years, Ampligen, which reproduces the body's natural antivirus mechanism, has been in trials for chronic fatigue syndrome. David Strayer, Hemispherx's medical director, says the chronic fatigue indication just completed Phase III testing. The company is preparing to submit if for FDA approval. Hemispherx's stock price has soared 137% from where it was a year ago.

This isn't the first time a health scare has driven demand for tiny biotechs. SARS, a highly contagious and potentially fatal form of pneumonia, left streets in Hong Kong deserted in 2003 and decimated the travel industry for a time. Small caps promising to find a cure for SARS soared. Some of the very same companies are now working on avian flu.

Even biotechs with seemingly legitimate drugs failed to prosper long term from the SARS scare. In April 2003, GenVec (GNVC: 2.19, -0.04, -1.8%) surged 75% to close at $2.68 after it received a $420,000 government grant to create a vaccine. Three years later, the company still doesn't have one. The stock closed at $2.23 Thursday. SciClone Pharmaceuticals (SCLN: 3.27, +0.06, +1.9%) looked like a pure play on SARS. Over the first six months of 2003, the stock tripled to $9.50 as sales for its lead drug, Zadaxin, surged in China. An immune booster, Zadaxin wasn't specifically designed for SARS, and it never gained approval in the U.S. Phase III trial results released in December failed to show statistical significance. SciClone closed at $3.21 on Thursday.

There's no question that some short-term momentum players profited on SARS — and are making a mint on avian flu. The same can't be said for long-term investors. Bottom line: Don't buy and hold avian-flu stocks if you're seeking investments for the long haul. The risks are too great, and the fundamentals are out of sync with share prices. Consider that even if a biotech has a viable product, the typical path from early development to FDA approval can take up to 10 years. And while the FDA could expedite the process for an immediate threat, Joe Pantginis, an analyst at Canadian brokerage Canaccord Adams, points to VaxGen (VXGN: 9.55, -0.10, -1.0%) as a cautionary example.

"Vaxgen got an order to stockpile anthrax vaccine in 2004," says Pantginis. "It's 2006 and they are still a year-plus off from filing for approval from the FDA."

Generex's Insulin Shock
Generex, one of the biggest beneficiaries of the avian-flu scare, deserves a closer look because the frenzy over its stock appears to be compounded by high hopes for its experimental diabetes product, an oral insulin spray called Oral-lyn. With diabetes growing at epidemic rates, Wall Street loves the idea of a safe and effective form of insulin that doesn't involve needles. Pfizer's (PFE: 26.02, -0.14, -0.5%) Exubera, an inhalable insulin treatment, won FDA approval in January.

David Kliff, publisher of the online newsletter The Diabetic Investor, says Exubera may not turn into a blockbuster. The inhaled insulin needs to reach the lungs to work properly, but Kliff says some patients are having difficulty administering the drug properly. Other large pharmaceutical companies including Eli Lilly (LLY: 58.86, +0.82, +1.4%) and Alkermes (ALKS: 24.15, +0.09, +0.4%) are working on deep-lung insulin delivery systems, but so far only Oral-lyn makes the claim that it can be absorbed in the mouth.

Kliff says the company hasn't begun any of the clinical trials needed to gain approval in the U.S. Oral-lyn did win regulatory approval last year in Ecuador. Sales are expected to start there by August. But the results of the Ecuadorian clinical trial that were released March 8 left much to be desired. The study consisted of just 24 teenagers and five adults and didn't have a control group against which to compare the effectiveness of Oral-lyn, according to Kliff.

Anna Gluskin, Generex's chief executive and chairman, disagrees. "We've done a lot of clinical trials, and every single trial we've done has had a control group. Every single one," she says.

According to Generex's own press release, patients in the trial had blood-sugar levels normalized with traditional therapies prior to the administration of Oral-lyn: "Because the study participants were referred to [the Institute of Endocrinology in Quito, Ecuador] in varying states of diabetic control, it was necessary to metabolically stabilize them using standardized therapy prior to the commencement of the study."

"In other words, before study participants used Oral-lyn, they used conventional injection therapy to get their diabetes under control," says Kliff. "Using Oral-lyn had nothing to do with getting the participants under control. The strange design of this study makes any data gathered irrelevant. There is no way to conclusively prove that Oral-lyn was beneficial at all or to what extent Oral-lyn contributed to the patient's control.... Quite frankly, the Ecuador trial is a joke."

Generex has published abstracts of studies testing Oral-lyn on small groups, including this one on six people in Ecuador.

The largest study published on Generex's web site consisted of just 26 subjects. There are no results available to the public from the types of large-scale trials required for FDA approval.

Yet Generex rarely passes up an opportunity to issue a press release. Its PR machine appears to be helping the stock. Last May, the Nasdaq Stock Market warned Generex its shares would be delisted if it didn't get the bid price above $1 for 10 straight days by Nov. 21. It managed to move above a buck for 14 days in early November before falling back to 83 cents by Jan. 1.

Generex counts on its stock to stay up and running. According to SEC filings, on Sept. 20 the company failed to pay the outstanding principal on two promissory notes totaling $600,000. As a result the noteholders were allowed to convert the debt into nearly 800,000 shares of common stock. Generex also agreed to such terms with other lenders. Shares outstanding soared to 64 million as of Jan. 31 from 35 million a year earlier. On Feb. 27, in a prospectus offering to sell another 24 million shares, it reported outstanding shares had risen to 70 million. This figure didn't include the 29 million shares that are issuable upon the exercise of outstanding options and warrants.

"I like the concept of Oral-lyn," says Diabetic Investor's Kliff, "but this is all sizzle and no steak. This is a very dangerous stock."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Page 1 | 2 

Oral-lyn  is the most importan thing for gnbt, if the writer don't know this, he is just a basher

strut1702, I read the SmartMoney article again and realized some things.

http://yahoo.smartmoney.com/undertheradar/index.cfm?story=20060324&afl=yahoo

The article was released at 4:44 PM EST and certainly raised some "concern" during afterhours trading causing the "panic" sell.

What I realized after reading the article more closely is that when the article mentions that "[Generex] has no approved products on the market" the article is addressing "Avian" related products, which is true.  But either does other Avian stocks right now. 

But my long-term interest in Generex IS NOT due to Avian flu vaccine development, but rather based on the future potential of their oral-spray insulin product (Oral-lyn) which is already marketed in Ecuador, recently received patent from Mexico, and their buccal delivery system has already received patent from the US patent office:
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2Fsearchbool.html&r=0&f=S&l=50&TERM1=generex&FIELD1=&co1=AND&TERM2=&FIELD2=&d=ptxt

The SmartMoney article will certainly have an affect on Avian stocks next week, especially stocks that are "only" Avian plays.

The release of the article after the market close was a fortunate thing as traders will have the weekend to examine the article more closely and find out that the trouble really applies to "pure" Avian stocks which the article is addressing (stocks that have gained on speculation of Avian bird flu scare.  And do you get the sense that they may be "jealous" of those that may have profitted from the recent Avian stock gains?). 

Generex with their pipelines based on the patented buccal delivery system and already marketed and approved retail product Oral-lyn will be even more attractive to other Avian stock holders as they may elect to sell "pure" Avian plays and buy GNBT on Monday for "safer" Avian holding with the long-term growth potential of Oral-lyn/patented buccal delivery system already on the market.

As I always post, you can sell anytime you feel "nervous" or "uneasy" about a stock.  I believe the afterhours trading drop was due to "misinformed panic" by those that indeed have bought Avian stocks on speculation without having spent time to research the company and products/patents/news in full, such as Generex Oral-lyn, US patented buccal delivery system, approval of patent in Mexico for Oral-lyn, retail sale of Oral-lyn in Ecuador, and the anticipated approval and sale of Oral-lyn in Canada and Mexico.

Time will tell.  I am still long on GNBT! 

sorry, they mentioned Oral-lyn

msg_stock, consider this:

Ok, I have gone through these issues already with NVAX in 2005/2006.

= If you think about it, in some ways, the SmartMoney article will drop the Avian stock prices down so that, perhaps, hedge/mutual fund managers who missed out on the gains can buy them cheaper?  Can you say "manipulation?"  IMHO =


So, here are my recommendations for GNBT for Monday:

1.  If you are nervous, uneasy or uncomfortable about the SmartMoney article, sell GNBT on Monday's market open.  If you anticipate a price drop, you can sell to buy back on rebound.

2.  Once you sold, you can hold cash while waiting to see what happens to Avian stocks in general and GNBT.

3.  If GNBT rebounds, buy back.

4.  If GNBT does not rebound, then buy another stock or continue holding cash until you find a suitable replacement stock to buy.

This is a free country and you have free choice as a stock trader on the free stock market.

Here a repost from Yahoo MB, thanks yeahiamsogreat for the post/link.

03/24/06 09:10 pm
Msg: 153501 of 153502

I've posted a couple articles showing Smartmoney's diabetes expert, David Kliff, and his interests in Amylin. In the Smartmoney article, he totally puts down Oralyn. But look at his opinion in this article from the American Diabetes Association!!! This article is apparently a little old, but man, this guy sure changed his tune!

http://www.mendosa.com/inhaled.htm

"Generex expects its oral insulin spray will not only eliminate the pain, anxiety, and trauma of injected insulin but will also get people with diabetes to take their insulin on schedule. And unlike injected insulin, the Generex oral insulin spray is stable at room temperature and requires no refrigeration.

For several years Lilly has had a rather quiet collaboration on inhaled insulin with Dura Pharmaceuticals Inc., a San Diego company. Dura, in fact, announced in July that it was increasing its commitment to work with Lilly on an inhaled insulin program.

Industry watchers like David Kliff, editor and publisher of "Diabetic Investor" newsletter, however, don't expect the Lilly-Dura agreement to survive Lilly's new agreement with Generex. Kliff calls the new agreement with Generex "big news," because of the easy-to-use design of the Generex RapidMist delivery device, which is similar to devices that people with asthma often use."

Interesting observation on Yahoo MB.  Nice find yeahiamsogreat from Yahoo MB:

03/24/06 09:05 pm
Msg: 153474 of 153527

The writer of this article, David Kliff, is a diabetic who calls himself the "Diabetic Investor"  http://www.diabeticinvestor.com/   

http://www.forbes.com/2005/11/02/animas-diabetes-in_dk_1102soapbox_inl.html

"David Kliff is an independent money manager in Buffalo Grove, Ill., and is publisher of Diabetic Investor. He was diagnosed with diabetes in 1994."

Perhaps David should have written today's article on Avian stocks with the diabetic twist.

David would see the value of non-injectable oral insulin spray with patented buccal delivery system in US and Mexico.

David would have mentioned  in the SmartMoney article like, "Oh, by the way, Generex is not only just an Avian play, but also holds promising future growth of non-injectable oral insulin already on the market in Ecuador with patents from US and Mexico."

Perhaps I will send David an email.

= update = I just did.  Here's the repost of the email I sent to David Kliff:

"Good evening Mr. Kliff,

As a stock trader and supporter of a Swing Trading message board at 3StocksOnFire.org as "LiveLife," I have a question. http://www.3stocksonfire.org/trading/index.php?topic=3635.msg53319#msg53319

What is your comments/thoughts on the SmartMoney article that was released this afternoon that mentions Generex grouped together with the Avian stocks, but failed to cover the non-injectable oral insulin product "Oral-lyn" and the company's future growth potential from the worldwide diabetic market?
http://yahoo.smartmoney.com/undertheradar/index.cfm?story=20060324&afl=yahoo

Has the diabeticinvestor.com done any article on Generex or companies developing non-injectable oral insulin?

I thank you in advance.

- John"

My repost from Yahoo MB:

03/24/06 09:49 pm
Msg: 153641 of 153641

I smell something fishy here, like releasing a "negative" article on Avian stocks so the price will drop for hedge/fund managers to buy them cheap.

It's my theory and probably will never be confirmed.

But the good news is that the article was released after trading on Friday. Over the weekend, traders will realize that "pure" Avian stocks will drop and buy GNBT that has patented non-injectable oral insulin "Oral-lyn" and patented buccal delivery system as their "flagship" product and Avian vaccine development as a secondary component to their pipelines.

Either way, Generex stands to retain and attract buyers for long-term growth potential of Oral-lyn/buccal delivery system while "pure" Avian stocks may suffer.

IMHO

comparing  mannkind's MedTone inhaler, which one is good? mnkd just has one patent on that.

big comany? do you mean mannkind, their chairman is a billiniar.

I sent the following email to Generex Biotechnology management:

"To Generex Management,

I am writing to you as a stock holder who has some concerns about an article that was released by SmartMoney.com on Friday afternoon. http://yahoo.smartmoney.com/undertheradar/index.cfm?story=20060324&afl=yahoo

Based on the information I have researched on Generex and the pipelines of products, I feel that the SmartMoney article may not have accurately represented Generex. The sudden response to the article during afterhours trading was unwarranted if the information about Generex is not correct.

Will Generex management release a press release in response to SmartMoney's article to protect its interest and millions of shares held by investors? As a stock holder and supporter of your company and products, I have recommended a "long-term" hold position at 3StocksOnFire.org Swing Trading message board. Your response to SmartMoney's article and future press releases in the near future will be critical to my "long-term" recommendation of Generex. http://www.3stocksonfire.org/trading/index.php?topic=3635.555

Thank you."

you didn't suggest them to do something to protect their product from comptitor such as mnkd

Wow, Yahoo GNBT is "on fire" about the SmartMoney article!  My repost from Yahoo MB:

03/24/06 11:44 pm
Msg: 154141 of 154141

Jim Cramer on Mad Money also trash talks some stocks (Like AMD last year), but his effect on long-term stock performance is short-lived.

Response to SmartMoney article may be a "knee jerk" reaction by the afterhour traders who did not even have time to read the article in detail.

Then, on long-term, the SmartMoney article's effect will be short-lived also. Once the market realizes that Generex is not just an Avian play, but holds a promising future growth potential based on their patented Oral-lyn and buccal delivery system that is already marketed.

Thanks tcaiboy for the link to "refresh" GNBT buyers' memory:

03/25/06 12:01 am
Msg: 154215 of 154222

http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3276

Oral-lyn Insulin: First Non-Injectable Insulin Gets Released this Month
on Tuesday, November 22 @ 12:50:24 CST

Generex has escalated manufacturing capabilities to meet expected demand for the first ever commercially available non-injectable insulin product, to be launched in Ecuador at the end of the month.

Large-scale commercial production of Oral-lyn will begin in January, with the goal of producing 50,000 cans per month for the first year, to support initial sales in Ecuador. The company already has 20,000 cans ready for the launch, prepared by their pilot plant in Canada.

Generex is also preparing to file for approval of Oral-lyn in Columbia, Peru and Bolivia, and will further scale-up production in the second half of next year to produce over 2 million cans per year to service commercial sales in those additional markets.
The production of Oral-lyn will be carried out by PharmaBrand, Generex's joint venture partner, at it's existing manufacturing plant in Quito, Ecuador.

For years, the big pharmaceutical companies have been chasing the holy grail of diabetes therapies – non-injectable insulin. A range of such products are set to explode on to the market in the next few years, ensuring a bitter grapple for market share.
Surprisingly, small independent company Generex has beaten them all to market launch, receiving approval for Oral-lyn in Ecuador in May this year. However, it is unlikely to beat them to the major pharmaceutical markets of the US and Europe.
Companies who have developed pulmonary inhaled insulins are hot on the heels of Generex, with Exubera developed by Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis and Nektar Therapeutics just been given US FDA approval, and similar products in Phase III clinical development from Eli Lilly/Alkermes and Novo Nordisk/Aradigm.

Interestingly, Generex was originally partnered with Eli Lilly to develop and market Oral-lyn but the deal that lasted only three years broke down prematurely in 2003.

Oral-lyn is a novel oral (buccal) insulin spray product, which is delivered into the human mouth by way of the company's proprietary RapidMist drug delivery system.

Non-injectable insulin will revolutionize the lives of countless diabetics and improve diabetes control, as the idea of injection deters many sufferers from taking the insulin they need.

Current estimates put the number of people with diabetes worldwide at nearly 180 million, a number which is expected to jump to 300 million in the next 20 years, and analysts predict that that first non-injectable insulin to reach major world markets stands to achieve sales upwards of $1.5 billion (€1.28 billion) a year.

"We expect to have captured 20–30 percent of the injectable diabetes market within 2–3 years," Fabio Chianelli, development manager, Generex, told In-PharmaTechnologist.com. However, this will all depend on whether the company is able to break into more lucrative markets by getting their product approved by the tougher regulatory authorities of EU and US.

The approval of Oral-lyn was based on the results of clinical trials in Ecuador involving more than 250 patients with diabetes.
However, the large-scale Phase III clinical trials required by regulators in the US, Europe, and elsewhere have not yet begun. These studies will involve well over a thousand patients, and must include a sizeable number of patients with over at least a year's exposure to the product.

The company is preparing to start Phase III studies in Canada and Europe early next year and in the US in the second half of next year, said Chianelli.

This raises the important question as to why, if the company is confident of the quality of their product, they chose to launch their product in South America.

"Regulatory approval in South America is much more relaxed than in other parts of the world. Lunching here first is part of our aggressive two pronged strategy, to generate revenue from sales of the product in Ecuador, in order to finance larger costly Phase III trials," said Chianelli.

"Other small biotechnology companies are usually partnered with large pharmaceutical companies and do not need to take this route. For us, money is sensitive," he said.

My repost from Yahoo MB:

03/25/06 12:17 am
Msg: 154271 of 154301

"This Wednesday's afternoon drop was VERY suspicious to me. And today's afterhour article release with afterhour trading drop was even more suspicious. Why didn't other "pure" Avian plays drop to during afterhour trading?

I suspect stock price manipulation by hedge fund managers/brokerage firms who missed out on GNBT's 400% run and wants in on the gain by artificially lowering the GNBT price by mass selling their holdings."