With a market capitalization of approximately $300 million, our Top Pick among small caps is an under the radar biotech idea, explains Bret Jensen, editor of Investor Alley’s Biotech Gems.
Aratana Therapeutics (PETX) had a good year in 2016 as the shares rose some 60% during the year.
However, the company might have had a better year and one that was not fully reflected in its stock price primarily because 2016 was a dismal one for the biotech sector, which dropped some 20% on the year.
Aratana saw not only its first drug approved by the FDA, but its second and third as well. The company is a unique veterinary drug play.
Animal health saw some significant M&A activity during the year as drugs are much less costly to develop in this space and the amount of spending on animal health keeps rising nicely on an annual basis.
The compound partnered its first compound, galliprant — which treats osteoarthritis in canines — with Elanco, a subsidiary of Eli Lilly (LLY).
Top 5 Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2019: 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 Joseph Griffin]
ArQule (NASDAQ:ARQL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $6.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $5.00. Needham & Company LLC’s price target suggests a potential upside of 134.38% from the company’s previous close.
- [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 Ethan Ryder]
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Top 5 Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2019: Medivation Inc.(MDVN)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Macro considerations have continued to weigh on stocks whenever they’ve shown signs of life and consensus estimates for many of the large cap companies have been declining. With the sector’s underperformance, the delta in the average PEG ratio for biotech growth companies (excluding Medivation (MDVN)) compared to non-biotech growth companies is slightly wider than it’s been for most of the year. As such, we remain constructive on the sector. That said, while valuations are attractive on a relative basis, there remains some uncertainty for the group and we would not be surprised to see the volatility continue…
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Last night, Bloomberg reported that Sanofi (SNY) had made a bid for Medivation (MDVN) but had been rebuffed, while noting that other companies–perhaps Gilead Sciences (GILD), Amgen (AMGN) or AstraZeneca (AZN)?–were also on the prowl. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey’s Peter Lawson explains why Medivation might be biotech’s most wanted:
- [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.
Top 5 Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2019: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ALNY)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Yesterday, after markets closed, it was announced that US Federal District Court Judge Sue Robinson ruled to issue a permanent injunction against Praluent, the PCSK9 mAb for hypercholesterolemia from partners Regeneron and Sanofi, due to infringement of patents from Amgen. The court has imposed a 30-day suspension (stay) on the injunction to allow for settlement or appeal of the District Court decision. Sanofi and Regeneron have announced their intent to appeal the ruling to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC). The injunction decision is consistent with our counter-consensus published views communicated on 25 January 2016 (“Downgrade to Sell on evidence of likely infringement of Amgen’s PCSK9 patents”) and subsequently. Based on consultation with expert legal counsel, we now put >75% probability Amgen will prevail on appeal and/or Praluent is ultimately removed from the US market, and/or Amgen achieves a settlement substantially in its favor. We currently model $3.3 bn in non-risk-adjusted 2022E US revenues for Praluent, while consensus models $1.2 bn in 2022E US revenues. We reiterate our view from 25 January 2016 to preferentially own Amgen, The Medicines Company (MDCO) (Buy), and Alnylam (ALNY) (Buy) over Regeneron for exposure to PCSK9 inhibitor market dynamics as outcomes trials approach.
- [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 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.
Top 5 Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2019: Amgen Inc.(AMGN)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By ]
All three are market-cap weighted — that is, the larger the company is, the more it impacts the overall performance of the index/fund. In the Nasdaq, for instance, the impact of any move in Apple, Microsoft or Amazon — which are weighted 12%, nearly 9% and nearly 8%, respectively — would be much more significant than the index impact of a much smaller position such as Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN), with less than 2% of the index assets allocated.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Biotech stocks have been particularly unloved during the past year, with the iShares Nasdaq Biotech Index ETF (IBB) gaining just 7% to the S&P 500′s 20% rise. Today, however, Amgen (AMGN) is getting a lot of love from the market after releasing Street beating earnings and reporting that its anti-cholesterol drug reduced heart attacks.
- [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 Ethan Ryder]
Wayne Hummer Investments L.L.C. trimmed its position in shares of Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 11.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,311 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 303 shares during the period. Wayne Hummer Investments L.L.C.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
- [By Chris Lange]
Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) is expected to report its most recent quarterly results on Wednesday. The consensus estimates call for $3.00 in EPS and $5.61 billion in revenue. Shares closed trading at $160.41 on Friday, in a 52-week range of $133.64 to $184.21. The consensus price target is $185.13.
- [By Chris Lange]
Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) saw a handy gain to close out the week after the company won a Delaware court ruling that blocked Sanofi (NYSE: SNY) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) from selling their cholesterol-lowering drug in the United States. Essentially the court found that the drug Praluent actually infringed upon Amgens patents for its rival treatment Repatha.
Top 5 Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2019: Biogen Idec Inc(BIIB)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Brian Orelli]
Drug-developer Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) reported a pretty strong earningsincrease in the first quarter. While revenue growth wasn’t as solid, investors appear to be giving management a pass, thanks to its explanations on why slowing first-quarter sales aren’t a sign of future trouble.
- [By Todd Campbell]
A new and highly anticipated study byCelgene Corp. (NASDAQ:CELG) shows that its promising multiple sclerosis drug could soon reshape the $19 billion multiple sclerosis market. On Friday, management reported that ozanimod met its primary endpoint for reducing MS relapses better than Biogen Inc.’s (NASDAQ:BIIB) Avonex, and importantly, it did so without any new safety risks.
- [By Chris Lange]
Short interest in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) decreased to 3.45 million shares from the previous 3.50 million. The stock recently traded at $274.50, within a 52-week range of $244.28 to $370.57.