More all-time highs are in the books for the major averages as a temporary fix to the government shutdown come through and earnings season starts off hot
But the real action is in happening in biotech stocks. A couple of big buyouts paved the way for some impressive biotech gains to kick off the new trading week.
First up, Celgene Corp. (NADSAQ:CELG) plunked down $9 billion to acquire Juno Therapeutics (NASDAQ:JUNO) and get ahold of its promising line of CAR-T cancer treatments. The announcement juiced JUNO shares by more than 25% on the day, bringing its five day gains to an eye-popping 75%.
If thats not enough excitement for you, French drug maker Sanofi SA (NYSE:SNY) announced it’s buying Bioverativ (NASDAQ:BIVV) for $11.6 billion. The deal pushed BIVV shares up more than 60% by the closing bell.
Make no mistake, the biotech sector is heating up in 2018. Merger madness is taking hold, pushing shares of many promising companies in the sector to new highs.
Top 10 Biotech Stocks To Own For 2018: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ALNY)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Lisa Levin]
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALNY) shares shot up 53 percent to $114.87 after the company impressed investors with encouraging data from a phase 3 clinical trial. Alnylam, a company dedicated towards treating a wide range of debilitating diseases through ribonucleic acid (RNA) interference (RNAi) therapeutics, said after Tuesday's market close that a phase 3 study called APOLLO met its primary efficacy endpoint and all secondary endpoints.
- [By Brian Orelli]
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) jumped as much as 14.5% today after announcing earnings after the bell yesterday. As a development-stage biotech, it wasn’t the revenue or the earnings that caused the spike, but the progression of Allnylam’s pipeline.
- [By Cory Renauer]
Treating diseases that have a genetic component by altering the expression of the responsible genes is a promising new field of medicine, but it has been much less straightforward than biopharmaceutical companies had expected. Two contenders in this area, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) and Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS), saw a mix of setbacks and success in 2016.
Top 10 Biotech Stocks To Own For 2018: ArQule Inc.(ARQL)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Paul Ausick]
ArQule Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQL) dropped about 23% Friday, to post a new 52-week low of $1.13 after closing at $1.47 on Thursday. The stock’s 52-week high is $2.17. Volume was about 15 times the daily average of around 150,000 shares. The biopharmaceutical company said this morning that a phase 3 trial of a cancer drug did not meet the primary endpoint of improving overall survival.
- [By Ethan Ryder]
Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on ArQule (ARQL)
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Top 10 Biotech Stocks To Own For 2018: Medivation Inc.(MDVN)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Monica Gerson]
Benzinga's newsdesk monitors options activity to notice unusual patterns. These large volume (and often out of the money) trades were initially published intraday in Benzinga Professional . These trades were placed during Friday's regular session.
PACCAR Inc (NASDAQ: PCAR) Aug16 52.5 Puts: 10000 @ ASK $1.70: 10k traded vs 335 OI: Earnings 7/26 $54.94 Ref
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: REGN) Jul16 345 Puts: 949 @ ASK $8.70: 1003 traded vs 55 OI: Earnings 8/2 $360.20 Ref
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) Fri 6/24 47.0 Puts (Wkly) Sweep: 689 @ ASK $1.12: 3758 traded vs 136 OI: Earnings 8/4 $46.69 Ref
Medivation Inc (NASDAQ: MDVN) Sep16 55.0 Puts: 4000 @ Above Ask! $3.40: 5303 traded vs 716 OI: Earnings 8/4 $59.44 Ref
Expeditors International of Washington (NASDAQ: EXPD) Aug16 47.0 Puts Sweep: 950 @ ASK $1.35: 973 traded vs 381 OI: Earnings 8/2 $48.15 Ref
Posted-In: Huge Put PurchasesNews Options Markets
- [By Ben Levisohn]
RBC’s Simos Simeonidis and Matthew Eckler try to find the right comparison for Pfizer’s (PFE) purchase of Medivation (MDVN):
Scott Eisen/Bloomberg News
We were obviously wrong with our Sector Perform rating: while we knew an M&A transaction was definitely a good possibility, we just could not get to this level of valuation using a realistic Xtandi model and thus could not recommend the stock. The only way for us to get to $81.50 (or even to $60-$70/share) would have been to assign very significant value to talazoparib. And we could not do that given the amount of available clinical evidence.Medivation shareholders who held on to their shares past the $50′s, did just that, were proven right and are now rewarded for it, since they believed that someone would be willing to pay for this asset just months ahead of Phase III data. The key question is why would a company be willing to part with what they claim/think may be a multibillion dollar drug that works in multiple cancers. We believe the obvious answer is because they’re smart and understand drug development risk better than most. We’ll know in a matter of months whether Pfizer/Medivation is like Amgen (AMGN)-Onyx (carfilzomib) or not.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Medivation (MDVN) has soared 20% to $80.41 after agreeing to be purchased for $14 billion, or $81.50 a share, by Pfizer (PFE). Pfizer has declined 0.7% to $34.75.
- [By Lisa Levin]
Shares of Medivation Inc (NASDAQ: MDVN) got a boost, shooting up 24 percent to $46.35 amid word of a new report from Bloomberg, saying the company is working with bankers to defend itself against preliminary interest of a takeover. However, Reuters separately reported the company is working with JPMorgan to handle interest from other companies, but said Medivation has no interest in selling itself.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Reports suggest that Gilead Sciences (GILD) and Celgene (CELG) have joined the bidding process forMedivation (MDVN), one that already includes (maybe) Amgen (AMGN), and of course Sanofi (SNY), which is trying to throw out Medivation’s board. Of the three biotech giants, Citigroup’s Robyn Karnauskas and team argue that Amgen is best positioned to win the battle. They explain why:
- [By Scott Rubin]
Big gainers on the day included Intersil Corp (NASDAQ: ISIL), which jumped 20 percent on news of a buyout, and Medivation (NASDAQ: MDVN), which added 20 percent on a deal with Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) related to its cancer drug. Cotiviti Holdings Inc (NYSE: COTV) lost around 9 percent in the wake of a mid-day sell-off and Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO) fell 7 percent in the wake of a management shakeup.
Top 10 Biotech Stocks To Own For 2018: ARIAD Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ARIA)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Lisa Levin]
Healthcare shares gained around 0.73 percent in trading on Monday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARIA), and VCA Inc (NASDAQ: WOOF).
Top 10 Biotech Stocks To Own For 2018: Amgen Inc.(AMGN)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Keith Speights]
Investors have turned to the pharmaceutical industry for solid dividend stocks for a long time. However, biotechs typically weren’t high on the list when it came to dividends. Over the past few years, though, Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) and Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) have risen in prominence as attractive alternatives for dividend-seeking investors.
- [By Todd Shriber, ETF Professor]
Several big-name biotech companies step into the earnings confessional starting in the middle of the week, with Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN), Anthem Inc (NYSE: ANTM), and Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) among the companies in play. That could bring opportunity with the Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bull 3X Shares (NYSE: LABU) and the Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bear 3X Shares (NYSE: LABD).
- [By Tom Gentile]
After the Senate scored the votes on Tuesday to review a plan for repealing or repealing and replacing what’s come to be known as Obamacare, we saw a mixed-bag reaction from healthcare stocks. Even some of the bulletproof ones, like Amgen Inc. (Nasdaq: AMGN), closed lower from their opening highs.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) tumbled to the bottom of the S&P 500 today after a judge said the company could be forced to stop selling an anti-cholesterol drug due to violating an Amgen (AMGN) patent.
- [By ]
Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) for example, announced FDA approval of its heart-attack prevention therapy on Dec 1. Immediately after, the stock popped 15% in less than two months, moving from $177.20 to $199.
Top 10 Biotech Stocks To Own For 2018: Biogen Idec Inc(BIIB)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By WWW.MONEYSHOW.COM]
Biogen (BIIB)
Biogen discovers, develops and delivers innovative therapies for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and autoimmune disorders.
- [By Garrett Baldwin]
Markets are keeping a close eye on the 10-year bond, which is hovering near 3% – an important psychological level that is likely to influence future price movements. On Monday, Fox Business Network’s “Varney & Co.” asked Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald if investors should be worried. Here’s what Keith had to say about the 10-year Treasury yield… and how it will affect your stocks and bonds in the future.
The price of Brent crude oil topped $75.00 and hit its highest level since November 2014. Oil traders were eyeing the ongoing efforts of OPEC and Russia to reduce excessive production around the globe, rising demand ahead of peak driving season, and the possibility that the Trump administration will slap Iran with a new round of sanctions.
Three Stocks to Watch Today: KO, GOOGL, SLM
Shares of The Coca-Cola Co.(NYSE: KO) added 1.2% after the firm easily beat earnings and revenue expectations. The firm cited strong demand for its new flavors of Diet Coke and its Coke Zero Sugar. Demand was so strong for the quarter that the firm reported organic sales growth of 5%. The company reported earnings per share of $0.47, topping estimates by a penny. Revenue of $7.6 billion easily beat Wall Street estimates.
Shares of Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOGL) seesawed in pre-market hours. The online search giant topped Wall Street earnings and revenue expectations after the bell Monday. However, shares were off 0.5% after executives announced that its business costs were on the rise. The firm’s real estate and computer purchases tripled in one year, to $7.3 billion. About one-third of that total came from its $2.4 billion purchase of the Chelsea Market building in New York City.
Good news for SLM Corp.(NYSE: SLM) investors, but bad news for indebted college students and graduates. The firm – also known as Sallie Mae – topped Wall Street earnings expectations on Monday. The firm said that it increased its loan o - [By George Budwell]
Shares of theDanish drugmaker Forward Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:FWP) gained 48.2% yesterday as the result of a settlement and licensing deal with Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB)involving an ongoing patent dispute over the multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera. Per the terms of the deal, Biogen will fork overa non-refundable$1.25 billion licensing fee, and possibly pay 10% to 20% royalties on Tecfidera’snet sales to Forward starting in 2021.
- [By Lisa Levin] Companies Reporting Before The Bell
United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $1.51 per share on revenue of $14.62 billion.
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.46 per share on revenue of $7.31 billion.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $2.07 per share on revenue of $11.93 billion.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $1.11 per share on revenue of $31.22 billion.
Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $3.42 per share on revenue of $11.28 billion.
The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE: SHW) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $3.15 per share on revenue of $3.94 billion.
Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $5.92 per share on revenue of $3.15 billion.
3M Company (NYSE: MMM) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $2.52 per share on revenue of $8.26 billion.
JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ: JBLU) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.2 per share on revenue of $1.75 billion.
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $1.13 per share on revenue of $5.49 billion.
Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HOG) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.88 per share on revenue of $1.25 billion.
Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.3 per share on revenue of $2.50 billion.
Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $1.88 per share on revenue of $13.28 billion.
The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $2.77 per share on revenue of $6.75 billion.
Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.07 per share on revenue of $2.16 billion.
PACCAR Inc (NASDAQ: PCAR) is projected to - [By Ben Levisohn]
Biogen (BIIB) tumbled to the bottom of the S&P 500 today after getting cut by two analysts.
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Biogen dropped 4.7% to $278.96 at 4:19 p.m. today, while the S&P 500 declined 0.2% to 2,381.38.
Leerinks Geoffrey Porges cited the “slower than expected ramp for Spinraza” in cutting Biogen to Market Perform from Outperform, while Morgan Stanly’s Matthew Harrison wrote that his decision to cut Biogen to Market Weight from Overweight was “not a downside call, but a timing call.”
Biogen’s market capitalization fell to $60.2 billion today from $63.2 billion yesterday. It reported net income of $3.7 billion on sales of $10.2 billion in 2016.
Barron’s Teresa Rivas recommended buying Biogen in December after the company released positive trial data on its Alzheimer’s drug.
- [By WWW.THESTREET.COM]
Breakups have the potential to create a lot of value. Just look at what Biogen (BIIB) did with its hemophilia franchise. Spun out as Bioverativ (BIVV) , shares started trading earlier this year. The stock has climbed some 23% on seemingly no news, Cramer noted.
