Tag Archives: Takeda Pharmaceuticals

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

1 of These 3 Stocks Won't Hold Its Gains

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By Rich Duprey, The Motley Fool

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The decision by the European Union over the weekend to force Cypriot bank account holders to have their savings taxed in exchange for giving the nation’s government a bailout — and the resulting vote by Cyprus‘ parliament rejecting the deal — had a chilling impact on the market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average barely moved on Tuesday, inching up just 3 points, as all eyes wondered how the financial mess would sort itself out.

If Cyprus is allowed to leave the EU, the entire structure crumbles, but taxing the bank accounts of individuals is an unprecedented maneuver that could cause bank runs in other financial unstable countries because the camel put its nose under the tent.

The three following stocks, however, were far removed from the scene of international intrigue, rising on their own merits. Yet resist the urge to high-five everyone in the cubicles next to you. Smart investors won’t celebrate until they know why their stock surged, because without a fundamental basis for the bounce, these stocks could just as quickly make the return trip down.

Company

% Gain

Pacific Biosciences

15.4%

NPS Pharmaceuticals

9.3%

8.2%

What a life!
With a potential bidding war looming for Life Technologies as possible buyers from Roche to Thermo Fisher Scientific and Danaher join a slew of PE firms weighing bids, investors looked about to see what else might be on the table and found Pacific BioSciences of California a possible target.

Life is a genetic testing company whose advanced diagnostics and consistent cash flows are considered jewels worthy of owning. PacBio is a similarly situated DNA sequencing company whose tools for biological research, including its RS system, might also suddenly be of interest to buyers if they’re eventually shut out of Life Technologies.

Roche, for example, previously considered taking over Illumina but ultimately declined, noting there were alternatives on the market for gene-sequencing technology. Presumably one of those is Life Technologies, and certainly another would be PacBio, but until bids are received for the former, a possible valuation for the latter isn’t really possible.

Take two; they’re cheap
It wasn’t a possible buyout that had shares of NPS Pharmaceuticals rocketing higher yesterday, but rather the buying back of global rights to its short-bowel syndrome drug, Gattex, and the recombinant human parathyroid hormone 1-84 that had investors bidding up its shares.

For just $50 million, NPS bought out its European distribution partner Takeda Pharmaceuticals for something that is expected to have peak sales of $350 million in the U.S. alone, in addition to what it can garner abroad. Short-bowel syndrome occurs when much of the small intestine has to be removed and the body is unable to absorb as much water and nutrients as it did previously.

NPS will pay Takeda an additional $30 million in cash or stock when sales of Gattex and 1-84 exceed $750 million annually.

Feeling sick
The …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Why NPS Pharmaceuticals Shares Soared

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By Sean Williams, The Motley Fool

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Although we don’t believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes — just in case they’re material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of biotechnology company NPS Pharmaceuticals jumped as much as 21% after announcing that it and Takeda Pharmaceuticals had revised their collaborative agreements.

So what: And by “collaborative agreements” I mean that NPS agreed to pay Takeda $50 million in NPS‘ common stock in order to regain full global rights to its short bowel syndrome drug, Gattex, known as Revestive in Europe, and recombinant human parathyroid hormone 1-84. Takeda will also be eligible to receive a milestone payment from NPS when combined net sales of these two compounds exceed $750 million in a calendar year.

Now what: It’s a slight bit worrisome that NPS is approaching sales of Revestive in Europe without a strong marketing partner in Takeda, but I believe it should be able to sell the short bowel syndrome drug without too much trouble given that SBS sufferers have few options to begin with. Overall, it looks like NPS got off incredibly cheap. Peak sales estimates of $350 million have been thrown around in the U.S. for Gattex, and I have to assume something similar is possible in Europe. Ultimately, the company is valued just a hair over the potential peak sales of its SBS drug, which it now owns outright. NPS could still have quite a bit of running room ahead of it.

Craving more input? Start by adding NPS Pharmaceuticals to your free and personalized watchlist so you can keep up on the latest news with the company.

While you can certainly make huge gains in biotechs like NPS, you have to keep an eye on the overall market, too. What macro trend was Warren Buffett referring to when he said “this is the tapeworm that’s eating at American competitiveness”? Find out in our free report: “What’s Really Eating At America’s Competitiveness.” You’ll also discover an idea to profit as companies work to eradicate this efficiency-sucking tapeworm. Just click here for free, immediate access.

The article Why NPS Pharmaceuticals Shares Soared originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.
Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don’t all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

3 Can't-Miss Health-Care Events This Week

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By Sean Williams, The Motley Fool

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You won;t often hear me say this, but it’s a pretty quiet week on the health-care front. There are a few notable conferences kicking off next week — including the Healthcare Innovation Expo on March 13 and 14 in London – but three earnings reports are what will take center stage.

Up first is Synageva BioPharma , an orphan-drug developer scheduled to report its fourth-quarter results on Monday. Synageva doesn’t have any FDA-approved drugs, so its earnings report will be less about the bottom line and more about its pipeline and its remaining cash on hand. If you recall, Synageva was one of my three biotech stocks to avoid in 2013 largely because of its huge run and valuation ($1.3 billion) despite having only one drug in clinical trials for the treatment of LAL deficiency. I’ll be eager to see what, if anything, Synageva is doing to reduce its expenses and what updates management may have about its four other preclinical candidates.

On Tuesday, home health-care and hospice provider Amedisys is set to report its fourth-quarter results. This will be a particularly intriguing quarter from an investor’s standpoint as Amedisys has crushed Wall Street‘s estimates in three of the past four quarters; however, federal budget cuts and lower Medicare reimbursements could threaten both it and the entire sector’s future earnings, including its rival Gentiva Health Services . In August 2011, as part of the U.S. debt-ceiling agreement, Medicare reimbursements were to be scaled back, with the result that Amedisys’ share price was halved and Gentiva, which also provides home health and hospice services, lost closer to 85% of its value. I have to wonder and worry whether Amedisys’ forecast might reflect the possibility of further Medicare cuts, and I will be closely monitoring management’s remarks regarding its 2013 forecast.

Finally, Affymax , which mortified shareholders less than two weeks ago after it and licensing partner Takeda Pharmaceuticals announced the voluntary recall of anemia drug Omontys, is expected to report on Thursday. This is going to be a particularly interesting conference call, because without Omontys, Affymax has no pipeline. Amgen , which has basically dominated the anemia dialysis market for two decades with its drug Epogen, has been free to once again take back whatever minute market share it had lost to Omontys since the recall. I’ll be listening closely to what Affymax CEO John Orwin has to say about Affymax’s next steps, and I’ll also keep close tabs on the company’s remaining cash balance.

While you can certainly make huge gains in biotech and pharmaceuticals, the best investing approach is to choose great companies and stick with them for the long term. The Motley Fool’s free report “3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich” names stocks that could help you build long-term wealth and retire well, along with some winning wealth-building strategies that every investor should be aware of. Click here now to …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance