Considering the new Trump administration, there is an increasingly positive sentiment in the healthcare sector. In the past year, the health care sector was under fire from congressional hearings and politicians on the campaign trail. It appears that 2017 is shaping up to be different for this sector.
The sentiment seems to be that this new administration could lead to more positive trials, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals and mergers and acquisitions.
24/7 Wall St. has picked out some of the biggest movers in the sector that stood out from the rest on Tuesday morning. We have included information about each company, as well as recent trading activity and the consensus price target.
Akers Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKER) announced that it had priced a secondary offering for 1.67 million shares of common stock at an offering price of $1.20, together with the issuance of 833,500 five-year warrants to purchase common stock with an exercise price of $1.50. The company expects to see gross proceeds of just over $2 million. The funds will be used for working capital as well as to accelerate growth in the US and in international markets, further develop new customers and launch new diagnostic products.
Shares of Akers were last trading down 14.5% at $1.33, with a consensus analyst price target of $11.00 and a 52-week trading range of $1.08 to $3.70.
Biocept, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIOC) saw its shares skyrocket after it reported that the company has secured an in-network provider agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX), the largest provider of health benefits in that state.
Shares of Biocept were last trading up 60% at $1.63, with a 52-week trading range of $0.74 to $5.64.
Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SRPT) saw its shares make a handy gain on Tuesday following its presentation at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference. The company’s Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) drug, Exondys 51, generated better than expected sales clocking in at $5.4 million in the fourth quarter. Previously, this DMD treatment was approved by the FDA just as recently as September 2016.
Shares of Sarepta were last trading up 21% at $37.89. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $62.94 and a 52-week trading range of $8.00 to $63.73.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE: VRX) made waves early on Tuesday after the company offered a plethora of announcements. First the company gave an update on its late-stage psoriasis trial. Along with this success, Valeant reported the sale of a couple of its business segments, bringing in a sizable amount of cash.
The company announced positive results from a second confirmatory pivotal Phase 3 clinical study to assess the safety and efficacy of IDP-118 (halobetasol propionate and tazarotene) lotion in the treatment of plaque psoriasis. IDP-118 showed statistical significance to vehicle with a treatment success rate at eight weeks of 35.76% to 6.98%.
Valeant first reported that it would be selling all of its outstanding equity interests in Dendreon Pharmaceuticals to Sanpower Group, one of the largest privately owned conglomerates in China. The price tag for this deal came to a total of $819.9 million.
Separately, the company announced that it entered into an agreement to sell its CeraVe, AcneFree and AMBI skincare brands to L’Oreal for $1.3 billion in cash. It’s worth noting that CeraVe, AcneFree and AMBI product lines have annualized revenues of roughly $168 million.
Valeant will use the proceeds to repay its senior debt. The transactions is expected to close in the first half of 2017, and they are still subject to regulatory and customary closing conditions.
Shares of Valeant were trading up more than 6% at $16.34, with a consensus analyst price target of $23.97 and a 52-week trading range of $13.00 to $101.40.
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