America First Tax Exempt Investors, L.P. (Nasdaq: ATAX) priced its secondary offering of 4,200,000 limited partnership interests at $5.05 per unit.  The firm raised about $19.95 million in net proceeds after the  payment of fees.  This one is trading up 0.5% at $5.08 and the 52-week trading range is $4.25 to $7.00.

ARYx Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARYX) announced that it has secured $35 million in a committed equity financing facility.  It will sell shares of common stock to Commerce Court Small Cap Value Fund over a 24 month period.  There is a maximum number of shares that can be sold and it is under no obligation to utilize any of the $35 million.  The company is also free to enter other equity and debt financing transactions.  ARYx shares are down 3% at $3.04 and the market cap here is $83.5 million.

AspenBio Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: APPY) is getting slashed and burned on its secondary offering.  It sold 4,482,609 shares of common stock at $1.70 per share, but that is after a $2.16 close yesterday.  Shares are down 17% at $1.79 on 175,000 shares.  This one is raising cash close to the bottom as the 52-week trading range is $1.05 to $7.78.

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NYSE: CAR) is under pressure as it has filed to sell some $250 million in convertible senior notes and on word that it intends to simultaneously enter into a warrant transaction to effectively hedge the convertible note sale.  These transactions often see selling, and that is what we are seeing here.  Shares are down 9% at $12.06 today and the market cap ius roughly $1.25 billion.

Gammon Gold, Inc. (NYSE: GRS) could be in the first wave of many smaller gold players to raise cash now that gold is over $1,000 per ounce.  The company announced a $100 million bought deal financing with a syndicate of underwriters including BMO and UBS.  The underwriters agreed to buy on a bought deal basis some 11.24 million shares of common stock at $8.90 per share.  We have shares down 5.5% at $8.85 on about 1,7 million shares (only 900K on average trading day).

LINN Energy, LLC (NASDAQ: LINE) priced some 7,500,000 units of limited liability company interests at $21.90 per unit.  Net proceeds are about $157 million before any overallotments.  This one is down 3.4% at $22.35 and the 52-week trading range is $10.81 to $24.09.  The market cap before the effect of any offering dilution is listed as $2.7 billion.

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: SGMO) is getting its wings clipped this morning.  It priced its secondary offering of 3,000,000 shares of common stock at $7.20 per share.  This one has doubled this year and shares are down almost 11% at $7.12 after closing at $8.00 yesterday.  The 52-week trading range is $1.82 to $9.39 and the market cap before any effects of the dilution is listed as $293 million after today’s drop.

As long as the capital markets stay open, we’d expect more and more companies use the strength to raise cash either for acquisitions or for a rainy day.

JON C. OGG
OCTOBER 7, 2009

• Amgen Inc. (AMGN) is up about 13% on positive Phase III trial results; Novartis Inc. (NYSE: NVS) may be affected negatively.
• MSC Software Corp. (Nasdaq: MSCS) shares are up as Symphony Technology placed a bid on the company for $360 million.
• DryShips Inc. (Nasdaq: DRYS) scored a Credit Suisse upgrade on the stock with close a 5% gain.
• ARYx Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: ARYX) is getting halved after the company’s experimental anticoagulant failed in a late-stage study.
• xenoport Inc. (NASDAQ: XNPT) shares were down strongly after hours on a secondary offering.  Ditto on Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARNA).
• BPZ Resources Inc. (NYSE: BPZ) is rising after it announced a credit line that will be used to help it fund projects in Peru.

-The 24/7 Wall St. Team

• STOCK TICKERS: ABT, BSX, MDT, JNJ, SRDX, ANPI, BAYRY, MAXY, AMGN, CRA, INGN, CELG, MRK, SNY, GSK, AKRX, ARYX

This week we saw another FDA Approval in stents as Abbott’s (NYSE: ABT) XIENCE drug-eluting coronary stent was approved for marketing.  While this is causing a resurgence in stents, this space is about to become highly competitive (stocks covered: ABT, BSX, MDT, JNJ, SRDX, ANPI).  Introgen (NASDAQ: INGN) has a new twist for head and neck cancer… give it a cold, literally.  Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ: CELG) actually won out as a competitor’s bone marrow disease trials failed to meet expectations.  Merck (NYSE: MRK) was an FDA decision winner as it gets to keep its lead on the cervical cancer vaccine market in the U.S. tied up for at least 6-months longer than it was anticipated (stocks covered: MRK, SNY, GSK).

This may be a tiny company, but a patent was awarded in bone marrow and stem cell transplants.  While a biotech turned over its hemophelia treatments to a larger company, hemophelia treatments may be better off now (stocks covered: BAYRY, MAXY, AMGN).  Vaccine awards are going to keep sales up at one small vaccine maker.  One Alzheimer’s Disease treatment that originally had high hopes has bitten the dust.  P&G walked away from a partner this week, killing a tiny biotech (stocks covered: PG, ARYX).

And on the front for reviews:

• Do you remember all the hype and hopes for synthetic blood?  This looks like the last player has gone on to greener pastures.
• What is a good investment that has backed way off from highs that should show steady growth in the China health care sector?  We evaluated one potential company for this.

These issues are more stock issues than anything else:

• Celera Corporation (NASDAQ: CRA) completed its journey to independence and took its 3-letter ticker over to NASDAQ.
• Bayhill Therapeutics withdrew its plans for an IPO.  MS and diabetes patients will have to look elsewhere, for now.

Have a happy and safe LONG Fourth of July weekend.  I think there is a new treatment on the market for burnt hand trauma from fireworks, but the FDA has it on hold until next February.

Jon C. Ogg
July 4, 2008

The company actually has a fairly unique model developing a portfolio of internally discovered product candidates designed to eliminate known safety issues associated with well-established, commercially successful drugs.  It uses its own "RetroMetabolic Drug Design" technology to design structurally unique molecules that retain the efficacy of these original drugs but are metabolized through a potentially safer pathway to avoid specific adverse side effects associated with these compounds.

The lead and most advanced product candidate, ATI-7505, is based on cisapride and has successfully completed Phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease and symptoms associated with functional dyspepsia; its second product candidate, ATI-5923, is based on warfarin and is currently in Phase 2 proof-of-concept clinical trials for use as an anticoagulant to treat patients at risk for the formation of dangerous blood clots; its third product candidate, ATI-2042, is based on amiodarone and is in Phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of atrial fibrillation, a form of irregular heartbeat.  Its targets are drug candidates targeting multi-billion dollar markets and it has a worldwide collaboration with Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:PG) for the development and commercialization of ATI-7505.

The company’s main revenues appear to be collaborative revenues from P&G as it has no products on the market, so it is still just in clinical stages.  Additional milestone revenue could reach approximately $391 million over the remaining life of the collaboration, of which approximately $216 million could be earned prior to commercialization.

Jon C. Ogg
August 31, 2007