Kaushik Paul submits:
By March 21, 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to decide on the marketing approval of Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s (SOMX) drug Silenor, designed for the treatment of insomnia, which is the inability of an individual to fall asleep or remain asleep for an adequate period of time. The stock is currently trading at $4.05, with a market cap of $95.7 million.
Michael Shulman submits:
Pfizer (PFE) was, at one time, the most owned stock in the world and the darling of individual and institutional investors alike. Despite looming patent expirations, an anemic pipeline and a stock that has significantly underperformed the S&P for the past five years, analysts and legions of blow-dried pundits on CNBC keep recommending the stock. In my service, ChangeWave Shorts, I have recommended short- and long-term puts on the stock. I myself am not short Pfizer.
Disclosure over, last week was not a good week for PFE in light of obvious and not so obvious news. It went oh-for-there in cancer trials – an experimental lung-cancer drug called figitumumab failed in trial as did Sutent, already on the market for two type of cancer treatment, in trials for advanced breast-cancer and failed to meet their primary endpoints. The Street read the headlines and the stock sold off a bit.
EP Vantage submits:
The dreaded FDA complete response letter, so often seen as a major setback and perceived negatively by investors in afflicted companies, was Monday welcomed with open arms by shareholders in Amylin Pharmaceuticals (AMLN) and Alkermes (ALKS), sending shares in both companies to 12-month highs; in early morning trading Amylin stock gained 9% to $22 while Alkermes rose 11% to $13.50.
Although the FDA has essentially rejected the application to approve Amylin, Alkermes and co-partner Eli Lilly’s (LLY) once-weekly version (Bydureon/Byetta LAR) of the already approved twice-daily diabetes therapy, Byetta, the relatively benign looking response letter appears to have removed significant uncertainty over the product’s approvability, with safety issues a particular concern (Event – Victoza approval could pave the way for Byetta LAR approval, February 4, 2010). Amylin hopes to respond to the FDA’s requests, over labelling, REMS and manufacturing issues, within the next few weeks although the likely classification of the response, Class I or II, remains unclear.
Ruthanne Williams Roussel submits:
Now that Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA), Vivus (VVUS) and Orexigen Therapeutics (OREX) have all announced full year 2009 financial results, it’s time to revisit my pet strategy of investing in the obesity treatment space by investing in a basket of these three stocks.
This basket essentially represents an option on the obesity drug market that I believe will mature in 2011, and that I hold in my own portfolio.
M.E. Garza submits:
One of the companies we’ve been following most closely, Neostem, Inc. (AMEX: NBS), is presenting at the Roth Capital Partners 22nd Annual OC Growth Stock Conference in Southern California today.
Last week, Roth Capital initiated a "Buy" recommendation on the stock with a $2.50/shr price target.
VFC submits:
Vanda Pharmaceuticals (VNDA):
Shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals have been on the move of late after Hapoalim Securities initiated coverage of the company with a ‘BUY’ rating and issued a price target of $23. Additionally, Hapoalim suggested that the company could be targeted for acquisition.
Jason Kelly submits:
Boston Scientific (BSX) announced Monday that it’s halting sales of its implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). The suspension was due to filing errors and not safety issues, but the company says it still has no idea how long the suspension will last. For a firm fighting to recover back to former glory, this is another setback.
Yet, the stock’s price chart suggests that bottom feeding might not be a bad idea one of these weeks. The news is bad, true, but the news around cheap stocks usually is bad. I watched the stock fall from $45 in 2004, patiently waited for some kind of base to show up, then built a position in 2007 and 2008 at a cost basis of $12.98. Boy, did that look cheap.
Anyone who doesn’t own Boston Scientific (BSX) is once again breathing a sigh of relief. It seems like an ever shrinking list. Holders of BSX include Paulson & Co., Primecap, Dodge & Cox, Wellington, Greenlight Capital (Einhorn), and even Brandes. It’s a who’s who in investment royalty.
We mere mortals in the field have taken notice, and the logic seems clear enough. First there is the attractive demographics. We’re all falling apart and will need everyone from Medtronic (MDT), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), and Abbott (ABT) to Stryker (SYK), Zimmer (ZMH), and St. Jude (STJ) to duct tape us back to relative health.
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