How the Tekmira Secondary Offering Could Help the Company

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By Chris Lange Published
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The Ebola scare is back but maybe not in the sense of the actual disease. Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ: TKMR), one of the top names in the Ebola drug arena, is now about to raise a significant amount of capital in a secondary offering.

Tekmira has 6 million shares up for this offering. Considering the closing price from Wednesday of $19.76, the offering could be valued up to $118.6 million. There is also an overallotment option for an additional 900,000 shares.

The underwriters for this offering are Leerink, RBC Capital Markets, Nomura, JMP Securities, Wedbush PacGrow and Lazard Frères.

Following the offering there will be over 52 million shares outstanding in Tekmira’s float, according to the filing.

The company expects net proceeds in the area of $112.5 million, assuming a price of $20 per share in the offering and deducting for expenses. Here is what Tekmira said it plans to do with the funds:

We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering for working capital and general corporate purposes, including, but not limited to, progressing our research and development programs, supporting our clinical programs and manufacturing activities, and advancing and protecting our technology. The occurrence of unforeseen events or changed business conditions, however, could result in the application of the net proceeds from this offering in a manner other than as described in this prospectus supplement. As a result, our management will retain broad discretion over the allocation of the net proceeds from this offering.

Shares of Tekmira were up 2.8% at $20.30 Thursday morning, in a 52-week trading range of $8.86 to $29.93. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $28.50, which implies upside of 40% from current prices. The highest analyst price target of $35 implies upside of 72%.

ALSO READ: How the Weaker Euro Is Affecting Biotech Earnings

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.

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