Health and Healthcare
Why These 2 Biotech Stocks May Be Bought Out Soon
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Big pharmaceutical and biotech companies seeking to grow company sales and revenues have two solid avenues. One is a consistent and growing pipeline full with good potential drugs in clinical trials. The other way is to buy growth and products using company stock, cash or both to do deals. In a new report, Stifel sees biotech stocks that could be takeover candidates soon.
The Stifel analysts are focused in on these two very solid biotech stocks because they have catalysts of a near-term nature that could help make the stocks attractive as takeover targets now. They are Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARIA) and Esperion Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: ESPR). Both are rated Buy at Stifel.
Ariad Pharmaceuticals
This company is an integrated global oncology company focused on transforming the lives of cancer patients with breakthrough medicines. Ariad is working on new medicines to advance the treatment of various forms of chronic and acute leukemia, lung cancer and other difficult-to-treat cancers. The company utilizes computational and structural approaches to design small-molecule drugs that overcome resistance to existing cancer medicines.
The Stifel analysts list some specific reasons that they feel clear the runway for a deal to get done.
The current Stifel price target for the stock is $10. The Thomson/First Call consensus price target is lower at $8.69. Note that shares closed Wednesday at $9.23.
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Esperion Therapeutics
This company is an emerging pharmaceutical biotech focused on developing and commercializing first-in-class, oral, LDL-cholesterol lowering therapies for the treatment of patients with hypercholesterolemia and other cardiometabolic risk markers. ETC-1002, Esperion’s lead product candidate, is a unique, first-in-class, orally available, once-daily small molecule designed to lower LDL-cholesterol levels and avoid the side effects associated with therapies currently available for lowering LDL-cholesterol. ETC-1002 is being developed for patients with hypercholesterolemia, including those with a history of statin intolerance.
The Stifel team cited reasons for this stock as well that could be putting it in play as a solid takeover candidate in the not-too-distant future.
Stifel currently has a $106 price target, but the consensus target is much higher at $124.50. The stock closed most recently at $99.02.
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It is important to remember that, even though the analysts feel these could be takeover targets soon, there is absolutely no guarantee that anything will happen. These stocks are only suitable for extremely aggressive accounts with a very high risk tolerance level.
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