Like we said in our previous article on biopharma IPOs, the IPO scene is suddenly buzzing with a lot of excitement. A staggering eight biotech companies were in the process of going public. There are 31 biotech companies that joined the IPO bandwagon this H1, which is more than the number that did so in entire 2012. Even if suddenly it seems that everything is right about the sector, the sector fans certainly know that such booms are usually followed by sharp corrections. So, we continue to take a long and deep look at three more stocks that went public in past two weeks.
Analysis Focus: AVROBIO announces pricing of IPO
Avrobio (NASDAQ:AVRO) launched its IPO of ~6 million shares of common stock at a price of $19/share. Gross proceeds from the offer are valued at $99.7 million. Overallotment for underwriters amounts to additional ~7 million+ shares. On June 25, the company announced the closing of its initial public offering of ~6 million shares of common stock at a public offering price of $19.0/share. The stock is trading under the ticker symbol AVRO at Nasdaq. The gross proceeds before underwriting discounts and commissions, from all kinds of offering during the IPO stand at $114.7 million, higher than initially expected.
Best Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2019: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ALNY)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Keith Speights]
I wrote three months ago that I viewed Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) stock as a pretty good pick — but with a couple of qualifications. First, I didn’t think that the biotech would generate returns in 2018 nearly as great as it did last year. Second, I thought that there were even better stocks to buy than Alnylam.
- [By Joseph Griffin]
BidaskClub lowered shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday.
- [By Max Byerly]
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.41) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $21.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.23 million. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 36.81% and a negative net margin of 565.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.25) earnings per share. equities analysts anticipate that Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
- [By Logan Wallace]
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a hold rating to a sell rating. According to Zacks, “Although Alnylam has a broad and promising pipeline, we note that most candidates are in mid stages of development. These candidates still have a long way to go before hitting the market. The company relies highly on collaborators for funding. Any development/regulatory setback would be a negative for the company. However, Alnylam reported positive data from the ATLAS study in the first quarter which led to regulatory filings for its late-stage pipeline candidate patisiran and the FDA set an action date of Aug 11, 2018. The company along with its partners Sanofi and The Medicines Company, restarted fitusiran's ATLAS phase III study and advanced inclisiran in the ORION-9, -10, and -11 phase III studies, respectively, with results expected for both programs in 2019. Alnylam expects to achieve the profile of three marketed products by the end of 2020.”
Best Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2019: Biogen Idec Inc(BIIB)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Ethan Ryder]
Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 40.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 183,809 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 52,654 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Biogen were worth $50,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
- [By Todd Campbell]
Unfortunately for investors, June’s discovery wasn’t exciting enough for Sangamo partners Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) and Shire (NASDAQ:SHPG). In 2015, Biogen announced a delay to its beta-thalassemia and sickle-cell disease treatment program with Sangamo. And then Shire, a Sangamo collaboration partner since 2012, walked away from Sangamo’s hemophilia program.
- [By Todd Campbell]
PTC Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTCT) shares took off after updated data from a trial evaluatingrisdiplam suggested it could mount a stiff challenge toBiogen’s (NASDAQ:BIIB)and Ionis Pharmaceuticals'(NASDAQ:IONS)Spinrazafor the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a rare and life-threatening genetic disease. The data is solid, but a one-and-done SMA treatment is already in late-stage studies at Novartis’ (NYSE:NVS), and that therapy could become available as soon as 2019.
- [By George Budwell]
Biotech heavyweight Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) has now lost over 13% of its value so far this year. To be fair, this year hasn’t been kind to biotechs in general, thanks to President Trump’s aggressive trade policies with China.But Biogen’s value has been declining at a far faster rate than the industry as a whole due to stiffer competition in the all-important multiple sclerosis (MS) space.
- [By Keith Speights]
Three biotech stocks that achieved this feat this week areNightstar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NITE),Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS), andBiogen (NASDAQ:BIIB). What caused these stocks to soar, and are they smart picks to buy now? Here’s what you need to know.
- [By Brian Orelli]
Likewise,Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) and Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS), which have the only SMA drug on the market, are feeling the heat from the promising data with shares down 5.6% and 7.3%, respectively.
Best Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2019: ArQule Inc.(ARQL)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Logan Wallace]
BidaskClub upgraded shares of ArQule (NASDAQ:ARQL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday.
A number of other research firms have also issued reports on ARQL. Roth Capital upped their price target on ArQule from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 17th. Leerink Swann upgraded ArQule from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 5th. Zacks Investment Research lowered ArQule from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 4th. ValuEngine upgraded ArQule from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 2nd. Finally, B. Riley set a $4.00 price target on ArQule and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, The stock currently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $4.69.
- [By Logan Wallace]
ValuEngine downgraded shares of ArQule (NASDAQ:ARQL) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.
Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on ARQL. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of ArQule from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $2.75 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 8th. B. Riley set a $4.00 target price on shares of ArQule and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 26th. Roth Capital raised their target price on shares of ArQule from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 17th. BidaskClub upgraded shares of ArQule from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, May 19th. Finally, Leerink Swann upgraded shares of ArQule from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. The company has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $5.35.
- [By Ethan Ryder]
ArQule, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQL) insider Value Fund L. P. Biotechnology sold 1,035,939 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $5,179,695.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.
- [By Joseph Griffin]
Shares of ArQule, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQL) were down 5.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $4.71 and last traded at $4.73. Approximately 3,358,864 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 289% from the average daily volume of 863,008 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.00.
- [By Maxx Chatsko]
Shares of development-stage biopharma ArQule (NASDAQ:ARQL) rose nearly 17% today after the company announced two appointments to its management team in two newly created positions. Dr. Marc Schegerin will serve as senior vice president, corporate strategy, communication, and finance. Dr. Shirish Hirani will serve as senior vice president, program management and product planning.
Best Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2019: Amgen Inc.(AMGN)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Logan Wallace]
Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2,737.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,400 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,800 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $7,739,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
- [By Joseph Griffin]
Field & Main Bank grew its stake in shares of Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 9.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,153 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 345 shares during the quarter. Field & Main Bank’s holdings in Amgen were worth $708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
- [By Cory Renauer]
Sanofi took the assessment and started engaging end payers to see if any would offer easy reimbursement for a lower net price that reflects ICER’s assessment, and the industry listened. As of July 1, the partners will cut the net price of Praluent in return for straightforward access for around 25 million Americans covered by theExpress Scripts (NASDAQ:ESRX) national formulary. Thepharmacy benefits manager, and will also remove formulary access for its main competitor, Amgen’s (NASDAQ:AMGN) Repatha.
- [By Todd Campbell]
When a brand new class of cholesterol-lowering drugs called PCSK9 inhibitors won Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 2015, it was heralded as the biggest advance in battling heart disease since the invention of statins. The launch of PCSK9 inhibitors was accompanied by billion-dollar-plus predictions for sales. However, revenue has fallen far shy of blockbuster status, leaving drugmakers Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN), and Sanofi SA (NYSE:SNY) in the lurch.
