Why Portola Stock Is Tuesday’s Big Winner
Portola Pharmaceuticals shares more than doubled on Tuesday after the company announced that it would be acquired by Alexion Pharmaceuticals.
Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: PTLA) shares more than doubled on Tuesday after the company announced that it would be acquired by Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN).
According to the deal, Alexion will pay $18 per Portola share in cash, a premium of 132% to Portola’s last closing price, for an aggregate price of $1.41 billion.
Essentially, Alexion is paying for Portola’s treatment for reversing the effects of blood thinners. The treatment, Andexxa, was approved in the United States in 2018 and had sales of $111.5 million in 2019.
Alexion has been trying to maintain its position as the top dog in the treatment of certain rare blood disorders through a string of acquisitions to increase its pipeline of rare disease drugs.
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Last year, Alexion agreed to buy Achillion Pharmaceuticals for $930 million to acquire its rare blood disorder experimental treatments.
Portola stock traded up about 130% on Tuesday to $17.80, in a 52-week range of $5.31 to $36.49. The consensus price target is $19.57.
Alexion stock was down about 4% to $99.30. The 52-week range is $72.67 to $136.51, and the consensus price target is $139.45.
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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.
