Biotech and pharma companies were on the move Wednesday. A few of the smaller caps made tremendous gains on the day, while a couple of the major firms saw massive volume and a slight move. Although some of the companies may not be the largest in the sector, they were some of the most heavily traded on Wednesday.
These companies 24/7 Wall St. has picked stood out from the rest on Wednesday morning. We have included information about each company, as well as recent trading activity and the consensus price target.
Derma Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSCI) reported that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: IART) to be acquired. According to the deal, Integra is paying $7 per share of common stock in cash for a total value of roughly $204 million.
Apart from the common stock, Integra is paying $32.00 per share for its outstanding shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and $48.00 per share for its Series B Convertible Preferred Stock, reflecting the stated value of such preferred stock in each case.
The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017.
Shares of Derma were last trading up 39% at $6.95, with a consensus analyst price target of $8.50 and a 52-week trading range of $2.85 to $7.00.
Shares of Integra were recently trading down about 3.6% at $43.28. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $46.67 and a 52-week trading range of $42.64 to $88.86.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for Keytruda (pembrolizumab), for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
This is the first application for regulatory approval of Keytruda in combination with another treatment. The FDA granted a Priority Review, Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), target action date of May 10, 2017. The sBLA will be reviewed under the FDA’s Accelerated Approval program.
Keep in mind that there are many other FDA decisions coming up within the next two months.
Shares of Merck were last trading up 2% at $61.22, with a consensus analyst price target of $67.28 and a 52-week trading range of $47.97 to $65.46.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) saw its shares recoil on Wednesday after President-Elect Donald Trump made comments on the health care sector. Trump said that these drugmakers are “getting away with murder.” He criticized the industry for heavy lobbying and took a somewhat democratic stance on the issue as opposed to a conservative one.
Although this might just be a near-term set back, investors can still make the most out of Pfizer because it is one of the Dogs of the Dow. 24/7 Wall St. has also examined the Bull and Bear case for Pfizer and Merck, as well as the other Dow healthcare stocks.
Shares of Pfizer were last trading down 2% at $32.75, with a consensus analyst price target of $37.65 and a 52-week trading range of $28.25 to $37.39.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE: VRX) saw its shares make a handy gain on Tuesday after the company announced about $2.1 billion in non-core asset sales in an effort to pay down its debt. However Wednesday was a different story. The company has given back practically all of Tuesday’s gains. It seems that many investors and analysts believe that despite this sale, Valeant will still have a rocky road ahead.
On Tuesday the company reported that it would be selling all of its outstanding equity interests in Dendreon Pharmaceuticals to Sanpower Group, one of the largest privately owned conglomerates in China. The price tag for this deal came to a total of $819.9 million.
Separately, the company announced that it entered into an agreement to sell its CeraVe, AcneFree and AMBI skincare brands to L’Oreal for $1.3 billion in cash. It’s worth noting that CeraVe, AcneFree and AMBI product lines have annualized revenues of roughly $168 million.
Valeant will use the $2.1 billion in proceeds to repay about $5 billion of its senior debt over the coming year. The transactions are expected to close in the first half of 2017, and are still subject to regulatory and customary closing conditions.
Shares of Valeant were trading down more than 5% at $15.55, with a consensus analyst price target of $23.97 and a 52-week trading range of $13.00 to $101.40.
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