MARKET CURRENTS
real-time news and commentary for investors
MARKET CURRENTS
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Today - Thursday, May 23, 2013
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6:21 PM AVEO Pharmaceuticals (AVEO) has been informed by its partner, Astellas Pharma (ALPMY.PK), that it no longer intends to submit a Marketing Authorization Application to the European Medicines Agency for tivozanib, its treatment for advanced renal cell carcinoma, nor does not intend to fund any future trials under its strategic collaboration agreement. AVEO says it's evaluating the impact of the news and its options for the drug going forward. AVEO -14.7% AH. Comment!
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5:26 PM Merck (MRK) provides an update on its clinical trials for preladenant, an investigational compound for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. An initial review of data from three separate Phase III trials showed no evidence of efficacy when compared with placebo, therefore MRK says it will discontinue the program and no longer plans to pursue any regulatory filings. Shares -0.4% AH. Comment!
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4:00 PM Inspire MD (NSPR -14%) gets smacked down today, flying in the face of largely posititve results from six-month trials of its MGuard Embolic Protection Stent that showed a lower mortality rate. The MGuard EPS uses a micro-net mesh sleeve to prevent unstable arterial plaque and clots that cause heart attack blockage from breaking off and exacerbating damage. Comment!
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3:46 PM Echo Therapeutics (ECTE +12.8%) move up on the Street's upbeat take on its Symphony CGM System, a needle-free continuous glucose monitoring system which the company unveiled and demonstrated in a webcast yesterday. CEO Patrick T. Mooney, M.D., commented that Symphony can effectively "improve glucose monitoring in hospitals and help alleviate the burden on both patients and caregivers," Patrick T. Mooney, M.D., chairman and CEO said in a statement released today. Comment!
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2:57 PM Apricus Biosciences (APRI -19.4%) tanks after pricing 6M common shares at $2.85, a 13% discount to the closing price of $3.30 on Wednesday. The company also sold warrants to purchase up to 3M shares of common stock and plans to raise a total of $15.8 million net of expenses. The shares of stock and warrants are immediately separable and will be issued separately. The warrants are exercisable immediately upon issuance, have a five-year term and an exercise price of $3.40 per share. Comment!
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1:55 PM Omeros (OMER +1.6%) trades up today after saying its investigational new drug application for the evaluation of OMS824, its treatment for Huntington's disease, has been cleared by the FDA. Comment!
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1:48 PM BioTime (BTX -0.2%) says its shareholders have overwhelmingly approved the planned acquisition of stem cell-related assets from Geron (GERN). The green light was given at a special meeting of shareholders, with at least 32.5M votes coming in favor from the 34.5M shares represented and voted. Comment!
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1:25 PM Elan's (ELN +3%) board has rejected the sweetened takeover bid from Royalty Pharma, saying it "continues to grossly undervalue" the company, with board chairman Robert Ingram adding that it's "no more than an opportunistic attempt to acquire our company at a substantial discount at our shareholders' expense." It urges shareholders to reject the offer, noting also that it's reducing the acceptance threshold to 50% plus one share from 90%. 1 Comment
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12:45 PM Kindred Healthcare (KND +2.5%) rallies for a second day on the back of Susquehanna's upgrade to Positive yesterday. The firm says the stock should continue to trade higher as the company exits its underperforming nursing care centers and free cash flow continues to rise. Comment!
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12:11 PM Shares of small-cap, generic pharmaceutical maker Lannett Company (LCI +5%) get a boost today after being initiated at Needham with a Buy rating and a price target of $15. The firm calls FY13 a transition year for LCI as its operations are positioned for strong future growth, with potentially significant upside coming from additional generic approvals/product launches, and progress around key product filings. Technical note: The stock is currently in the process of breaking out of its 52-week range of $3.72 - $12.57. Comment!
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11:46 AM HEICO (HEI +10.8%) jumps to new 52-week highs today, after the company reported late Wednesday FQ2 earnings that easily topped Street estimates. Revenue grew by 10% Y/Y, driven by strong organic growth in both its Flight Support and Electronic Technologies segments, as well as better margins. Looking ahead, the company says it sees increases in airline capacity and maintenance spending to yield moderate organic growth, and it raises FY13 growth guidance from around 6% to 8% to between 8% and 10%. Comment!
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11:38 AM Nordion (NDZ +9%) ramps higher this morning after the company says it will divest its Target Therapies business to BTG for around $200M. That means, after fees, NDZ should rake-in nearly $185M on the closing. The sale its part of the company's larger strategic reorganization, and it's hefty price tag for a business whose sole product is its targeted liver cancer therapy, TheraSphere. Comment!
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10:59 AM Chembio Diagnostics (CEMI +0.2%) bucks a weak tape after saying it won a $750K cooperative research agreement with a US government agency to develop rapid point-of-carediagnostic tests for five infectious diseases associated with febrile illness and to multiplex them into one assay. The eight-month project also hopes to optimize the test for use with a mobile reader that incorporates cell phone technology to enable the results to be recorded, transmitted and monitored remotely via a cloud system, in real-time. 1 Comment
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10:36 AM Shares of Stemline Therapeutics (STML -2.2%) slip this morning after Jefferies and Aegis Capital announced an exercise of their option to purchase around 620K additional shares in connection with STML's previously announced 4.1M share public offering. The option's exercise at $14.50 per share will add around $69M in total gross proceeds to STML's coffers before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions. Closing is expected on or about May 28. 2 Comments
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8:35 AM Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) Pharmaceuticals Business Review is just getting underway (webcast) (agenda) (presentation). The company anticipates more than 10 new product filings and 25 significant brand extensions by 2017. Shares -1.2% premarket. Comment!
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7:45 AM More on Alkermes' (ALKS) FQ4 : Revenues from five key commercial products rise +26% Y/Y and free cash flow jumps to $48M from $8.4M. For the full year (the first full year that reflects the Elan Drug merger) revenues and (non-GAAP) net income rise 48% and 285% to $575.5M and $1.31/share respectively. AMPYRA/FAMPYRA revenues were $65M for the full year vs. $24.6M for FY12 and VIVITROL revenues rose 41% Y/Y to $58.1M. Operating expenses ex a one-time restructuring charge were essentially flat. (PR) 1 Comment
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7:24 AM Medtronic (MDT) announces regulatory approval for VIV procedures using CoreValve and CoreValve Evolut TAVI systems in degenerated bioprosthetic surgical aortic valves. It's the first-ever approval for VIV procedures, a minimally-invasive option for at-risk patients. Shares -1% premarket. Comment!
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