Biotech Merger & Acquisition Volume Hits The Biggest Since 2008 – (ARNA, GILD, INCY)


Biotech merger volume across the world has hit levels not seen in four years as large pharmaceutical companies chase contracts to get access to new drugs, with bankers saying therapeutic areas including cancer, inflammation and autoimmune diseases are emerging as highly attractive.

Healthcare bankers at Credit Suisse Group (NYSE:CS) said those pharmaceutical giants with expired patents are seeking products to increase their drug development steps and sometimes to also provide their primary-care sales pushes more drugs to sell.

So far in 2012, the volume of biotech M&A has been over $25 billion as compared to about $10 billion during the same period last year, according to Thomson Reuters data as of Thursday. The data reveals that the volume was the largest since 2008, when contract volumes boosted to $54 billion due to Roche’s $46.7 billion acquisition of Genentech.

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARNA)

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in discovering, developing, and commercializing oral drugs. Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARNA) plunged -4.56% and closed at $7.39 with the total traded volume of 12.71 million shares. ARNA has market capitalization of 1.35 billion.

A low put/call ratio alert was hoisted on shares of Arena Pharmaceuticals during last trading session. The raised call volume sprinted 5.6x the volume of put contracts yielding a 0.18 put/call ratio.

The last trading session observed a low of $7.35 and high of $7.97 during the day. ARNA was trading below the 50 day moving average and above the 200 day moving average. The stock’s 52 week low is $1.23 and 52 week high is $13.50. Performance gauges illustrate that the stock has gained 179.78% within the last quarter.

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) declined 0.73% with the closing price of $56.87. The overall volume in the last trading session was 8.20 million shares. Its fifty two week range was $34.45-$58.84. The total market capitalization remained $43.03 billion.

GILD is ahead its 52 week low with 65.04% and its last month price volatility remained 2.74%. Its beta coefficient was 0.45 with a target price of $62.61. Company’s current year earnings per share grew with 6.82% while the five year EPS growth rate was +21.78%. GILD has positive year-to-date performance of 38.94%.

Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ:INCY)

In last trading session, Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ:INCY) reported the fall of -5.57% and closed at $18.48 with the overall traded volume of 5.87 million shares more than the average volume of 1.80 million. Incyte Corporation (Incyte) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecule drugs to treat serious unmet medical needs.

INCY has outstanding shares of 128.10 million with the total market capitalization of 2.37 billion and its beta value stands at 2.14 times. It has current ratio of 2.24 and its debt-to-equity ratio was 1.11.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *