How the Tekmira Secondary Offering Could Help the Company

Tekmira Pharmaceuticals, one of the top names in the Ebola drug arena, is now about to raise a significant amount of capital in a secondary offering.

Published March 19, 2015, 10:35am ET · 2 min read

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

ten dollar bills

The Ebola scare is back but maybe not in the sense of the actual disease. Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ: TKMR), one of the top names in the Ebola drug arena, is now about to raise a significant amount of capital in a secondary offering.

Tekmira has 6 million shares up for this offering. Considering the closing price from Wednesday of $19.76, the offering could be valued up to $118.6 million. There is also an overallotment option for an additional 900,000 shares.

The underwriters for this offering are Leerink, RBC Capital Markets, Nomura, JMP Securities, Wedbush PacGrow and Lazard Frères.

Following the offering there will be over 52 million shares outstanding in Tekmira’s float, according to the filing.

The company expects net proceeds in the area of $112.5 million, assuming a price of $20 per share in the offering and deducting for expenses. Here is what Tekmira said it plans to do with the funds:

We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering for working capital and general corporate purposes, including, but not limited to, progressing our research and development programs, supporting our clinical programs and manufacturing activities, and advancing and protecting our technology. The occurrence of unforeseen events or changed business conditions, however, could result in the application of the net proceeds from this offering in a manner other than as described in this prospectus supplement. As a result, our management will retain broad discretion over the allocation of the net proceeds from this offering.

Shares of Tekmira were up 2.8% at $20.30 Thursday morning, in a 52-week trading range of $8.86 to $29.93. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $28.50, which implies upside of 40% from current prices. The highest analyst price target of $35 implies upside of 72%.

ALSO READ: How the Weaker Euro Is Affecting Biotech Earnings

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Chris Lange

Chris Lange is a financial and geopolitical writer with more than a decade of experience covering a myriad of topics. He has published thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St., with past coverage focused heavily on stocks, IPOs, healthcare, defense, global affairs, and technology.

His work has been quoted, or referenced by a number of outlets including Business Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, The Motley Fool, and many other publications. A graduate of Southwestern University, he studied business with a focus on investments and has previous experience in banking and startups.

When not reading or writing the news, he is following his passion for Lacrosse, playing chess, or building solar projects with his dad.

All articles →