Colorado stocks as a group ended the quarter with a sliver of a gain, but that sliver contained large gains and big losses at several companies.
The Bloomberg Colorado Index, a basket of 76 stocks based in the state, gained 0.32 percent in the first quarter, on par with the 0.44 percent gain in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.26 percent during the quarter, and the Nasdaq composite gained 3.48 percent.
“It is more of a stock picker’s market, and this tide isn’t lifting all boats,” said Mike Gegen, a senior vice president with Robert W. Baird in Cherry Creek.
Health care, small-cap and international stocks fared better during the quarter, while large-cap, energy and many interest-rate-sensitive investments, like utility stocks, lagged, Gegen said.
The top performer and bottom performer year-to-date in Colorado were biotech firms. The difference? The first had positive results in its trials, and the second didn’t.
Douglas County-based Ampio Pharmaceuticals gained 119.5 percent during the quarter, followed by Boulder-based Array BioPharma, which was up 55.8 percent and Lakewood-based Rare Element Resources, up 47.4 percent.
Shares of Ampio moved higher after positive study results in late February for Ampion, its drug that treats arthritis by reducing inflammation.
Shares of Venaxis Inc. of Castle Rock, by contrast, dropped 73.8 percent after the FDA declined to fast-track its blood test to measure the risk for appendicitis.
The company promoted its test as an alternative to more expensive CT scans, especially among children and young adults vulnerable to radiation exposure.
Several law firms hit Venaxis with class action lawsuits on behalf of investors and the company warned in March that its shares could get delisted.
As was the case in the fourth quarter, weak oil prices hammered most energy stocks, both traditional and renewable.
Shares of American Eagle Energy, which fell 92.4 percent last year, lost another 71.1 percent in 2015. Resolute Energy dropped 57.3 percent in the first quarter after losing 85.4 percent last year.
Not all energy stocks were train wrecks. SM Energy Co., which is focused on natural gas production, managed to gain 34 percent during the quarter.
Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410, asvaldi@denverpost.com or twitter.com/aldosvaldi
Colorado stocks
Top performers
CompanyQ1 returnAmpio Pharmaceuticals119.5%Array BioPharma55.8%Rare Element Resources47.4%Heska Corp. 42.2%UQM Technologies40.8%
Bottom performers
CompanyQ1 returnVenaxis-73.8%American Eagle Energy-71.1%Resolute Energy-57.3%Midway Gold-56.8%Molycorp-56.3%
