The second week of the New Year is now underway, and a few biotech companies made sizable runs to kick off the week. The health care sector was in trouble over the past year, under fire from congressional hearings and politicians on the campaign trail. But 2017 could be different for this sector, with a new administration and new perspective that could lead to more positive trials, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals, and mergers and acquisitions.
24/7 Wall St. has picked out a few companies that stood out from the rest on Monday morning. We have included information about each company, as well as recent trading activity and the consensus price target.
As we have said before, the results of clinical trials as well as FDA decisions have the potential to make or break companies in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. 24/7 Wall St. also has put together an FDA calendar for some key decisions and catalysts coming out for these industries in January and February.
Alcobra
Alcobra Ltd. (NASDAQ: ADHD) has received official minutes from its meeting with the Division of Psychiatry Products of the FDA held in early December 2016. The official minutes reflect the FDA’s agreement to review the data collected thus far in Alcobra’s Phase 3 MEASURE Study and consider it in a future NDA submission of MDX for treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Ultimately, the FDA will review results from this safety study and consider the complete lifting of the Full Clinical Hold currently in place on the MDX programs.
Shares of Alcobra were trading down about 13.5% at $2.18 early Monday, with a consensus analyst price target of $5.17 and a 52-week trading range of $1.77 to $5.75.
Ariad Pharmaceuticals
Shares of Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARIA) jumped sharply early on Monday after the company entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Takeda. Under the terms of the agreement, Takeda will pay $24 per share for all outstanding shares of Ariad in cash, an enterprise value of roughly $5.2 billion. Both boards of directors have unanimously approved the transaction, but it is still subject to regulatory approval.
Ariad shares were up 73% at $23.79 just after the opening bell. The consensus price target is $13.45, and the 52-week range is $4.37 to $23.80.
Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals
It was announced early on Monday that Silence Therapeutics had acquired an equity stake of about 8.4% of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARWR). The company said that there have been no discussions about any potential transaction between the two companies. So far Arrowhead plans to continue developing its RNAi-based drug candidates while continuing to seek partnerships and collaborations to maximize the value of its assets.
Shares of Arrowhead were last seen up 2.8% at $2.20, in a 52-week range of $1.20 to $8.22. The consensus price target is $1.80.
Merrimack Pharmaceuticals
Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: MACK) reported that it has entered into a definitive asset purchase and sale agreement with Ipsen for a transaction valued at up to $1.025 billion, plus up to $33 million in net milestone payments retained by Merrimack pursuant to its exclusive licensing agreement with Shire. According to the deal, Merrimack will sell its first commercial product, Onivyde, to Ipsen, including U.S. commercialization rights and its licensing agreement with Shire. Also Merrimack will sell Ipsen its generic version of doxorubicin hydrochloride liposome injection. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2017.
Merrimack traded up 33.5% to $4.80, with a consensus price target of $9.67 and a 52-week range of $3.46 to $9.02.
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