Welcome to another edition of “3 Things in Biotech You Should Learn Today,” a daily digest dedicated to helping you keep tabs on the fast-moving world of biotech and pharmaceutical research.
Let’s get started!
AstraZeneca whiplash continues with more durvalumab news
In a scrambling defense of disappointing MYSTIC results for its immune checkpoint inhibitor program, AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) inked a deal with Merck (NYSE:MRK) to collaborate on PARP inhibition and immune checkpoint inhibition. That deal I called a shot in the arm a few days ago.
But the thing that had me wondering the most about AZN’s fortune wasn’t the apparent failure in the metastatic setting, where there are currently 3 other viable treatment options. Because they had positive results from PACIFIC, their study of durvalumab as treatment in the locally advanced setting, which we saw back in mid-May.
So why the huge worry? Adding to this bit of momentum in lung cancer, AZN has announced that the FDA has given durvalumab breakthrough therapy designation in the stage III non-small cell lung cancer setting. This enables the program to move forward through the regulatory pathway much more quickly, with the possibility of accelerated approval at the end.
Top 5 Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2019: Amgen Inc.(AMGN)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By ]
Booker’s report took on other companies as well. Pfizer (PFE) , Gilead Sciences (GILD) , AbbVie (ABBV) , Amgen (AMGN) , Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) , and Mylan NV (MYL) are cited for everything from raising drug prices, to stock buybacks and putting shareholder interest before that of the public.
- [By Logan Wallace]
Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) was upgraded by stock analysts at BidaskClub from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday.
- [By ]
For example, if you buy 100 shares of theNasdaq100ETF(NYSE: QQQ), you’re theoretically buying 11.9 shares of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)… 7.7 shares of Facebook (NASDAQ: FB)… 1.8 shares ofAmgen(NASDAQ: AMGN)… 2.6 shares of Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA)… and even smaller amounts of about 95 different companies.
- [By Chris Lange]
Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) saw its short interest rise to 10.72 million shares from the previous level of 9.62 million. Shares were last seen at $184.61 in a 52-week trading range of $161.13 to $201.23.
- [By Stephan Byrd]
Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Amgen (AMGN)
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Top 5 Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2019: Biogen Idec Inc(BIIB)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Lisa Levin]
Analysts at Canaccord Genuity upgraded Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) from Hold to Buy.
Biogen shares rose 2.55 percent to close at $294.40 on Tuesday.
- [By Brian Orelli]
Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) ended the day down 10.6% after an earnings reportfrom partner Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) started the day on a sour note. Then shares dropped even further midday after data was releasedfor IONIS-HTTRx, a treatment for Huntington’s disease. Biogen managed to end the day in the green, up 1.1%.
- [By Brian Feroldi]
Data source: Alkermes. GAAP = generally accepted accounting principles.
What happened with Alkermes this quarter?
Sales of Alkermes’opioid- and alcohol-abuse prevention drug Vivitrol grew 7% to $62.7 million. Sales of the company’sschizophrenia drugAristadarose 62% to $29.2 million. Manufacturing and royalty revenue related toJohnson & Johnson’s schizophrenia drugs jumped 15% to $68.8 million. Manufacturing and royalty revenue related toAcorda Therapeutics’ multiple sclerosis drugfell3% to $28.3 million. Research and development revenue earned as part of its collaboration withBiogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) for BIIB098 — which used to be called ALKS 8700 — was $17.5 million.Looking beyond the financials, here’s an overview of the key events from the period:
- [By ]
What should investors do with shares of Celgene (CELG) , Biogen Idec (BIIB) , Gilead Science (GILD) and Regeneron (REGN) ? Cramer once proclaimed these high-fliers his “four horsemen of biotech,” but lately they’ve lost all of their traction, with Celgene down 21%, Biogen off 14%, Gilead down 9% and Regeneron off 23% so far this year.
- [By Logan Wallace]
Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported $6.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. Biogen had a net margin of 23.54% and a return on equity of 37.64%. Biogen’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.20 earnings per share. research analysts anticipate that Biogen will post 23.94 earnings per share for the current year.
- [By Joseph Griffin]
Here are some of the news stories that may have effected Accern’s analysis:
Get Biogen alerts:
Biogen (BIIB) Expected to Post Quarterly Sales of $3.24 Billion (americanbankingnews.com) Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB): Does The Earnings Decline Make It An Underperformer? (finance.yahoo.com) 5 Trade Ideas For Monday: AMTD, BIIB, DEO, FITB, TECK (investing.com) $5.29 EPS Expected for Biogen (BIIB) This Quarter (americanbankingnews.com) Biogen (BIIB) Upgraded by ValuEngine to “Hold” (americanbankingnews.com)
Shares of Biogen traded up $5.45, reaching $281.51, during midday trading on Wednesday, according to MarketBeat Ratings. 1,514,169 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,729,786. Biogen has a 52-week low of $276.94 and a 52-week high of $281.57. The firm has a market cap of $59.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 2.95 and a current ratio of 3.23.
Top 5 Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2019: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ALNY)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Shane Hupp]
Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY)
For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com
- [By Brian Orelli]
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) released first-quarter results last week, but all eyes were looking forward as the company waits for a potential approval of its hereditary TTR amyloidosis (ATTR) drug, patisiran.
- [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 Brian Orelli]
The delay in an FDA decision for Tegsedi puts it behind competitor Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY), which expects to hear from the FDA by Aug. 11 for its hATTR drug patisiran. But Sarah Boyce, the president at Akcea Therapeutics, doesn’t think a few months will really matter: “We don’t really feel that’s going to have any impact and the drugs will be close enough together from a launch perspective. So not really [going] to make any adjustments, and we’re very well prepared to be ready to launch following approval.”
- [By Sean Williams, Chuck Saletta, and Brian Feroldi]
So, which biotech stocks should you consider buying in June? That’s a question we posed to three of our healthcare-focused investors. Interestingly enough, mid-cap biotech stocks are the clear flavor of the month. If biotech is on your radar in June, our investors suggest you consider Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS), Spark Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ONCE), and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY).
Top 5 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 Stephan Byrd]
ArQule, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQL) Director Ronald M. Lindsay acquired 23,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $2.67 per share, for a total transaction of $63,813.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 43,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $117,213. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.
- [By Lisa Levin] Gainers
Melinta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MLNT) shares surged 20.6 percent to $6.39. WBB Securities upgraded Melinta Therapeutics from Hold to Speculative Buy.
Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCVL) shares climbed 17.2 percent to $30.87 after the company reported upbeat quarterly earnings.
Acorn International, Inc. (NYSE: ATV) shares rose 15.2 percent to $28.804 after the company declared a special one-time cash dividend of $14.97 per ADS.
Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE: FL) gained 15 percent to $53.35 after the company reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter.
Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: SHOS) surged 14.2 percent to $2.625.
ArQule, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQL) rose 13 percent to $5.12 after gaining 4.86 percent on Thursday.
Quality Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: QSII) gained 12.8 percent to $16.97 after the company posted better-than-expected FQ4 results.
Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima (NYSE: LOMA) shares rose 12 percent to $12.94.
ArQule, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQL) shares rose 12 percent to $5.07.
Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRTX) climbed 11.4 percent to $43.50.
Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ: ZLAB) gained 11.3 percent to $24.7000.
Zymeworks Inc. (NASDAQ: ZYME) rose 9.7 percent to $19.64.
Park City Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCYG) climbed 9 percent to $7.90.
Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) gained 7.9 percent to $38.82 after Citron reversed previously bearish position on the stock.
Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD) shares jumped 7.3 percent to $3.55.
Deckers Outdoor Corp (NYSE: DECK) rose 3.5 percent to $107.27 after reporting better-than-expected results for its fiscal fourth quarter.Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers
