Martek to reach grown-up market; Stock Soars
Baltimore Business Journal Feb 4, 2005
Martek Biosciences Corp.'s stock price shot up more than $6 Friday after news it struck a 15-year license and supply agreement with a Fortune 500 food products company.
Under the deal, Martek, a Columbia manufacturer of nutritional additives, will supply the company with its DHA, or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), compound for yet-to-be-determined food products.
The food company does not want to disclose its name until the product line is introduced to the public. The product launch is expected in mid-2006. The Martek DHA logo will be displayed on all product packages, print advertisements and other promotional materials for the product line.
Martek manufacturers nutritional oils and supplements from microalgae. Its DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid that supports brain, eye and cardiovascular health. The company's stock price has soared as the fatty acids it produces have become the nutrient of choice in many of the top-selling brands of infant formula sold around the world.
In January, the company announced it was setting its sights on developing products for adults.
Martek could not immediately be reached to comment on how the latest deal may affect earnings.
Martek's shares (MATK) were trading at $64.20 Friday, up $6.45, or 11.17 percent. About 3 million shares were trading, up from an average trading volume of 916,000 shares.
Kellogg deal boosts stock of Martek nearly 13%
Breakfast-cereal king agrees to use fatty acid made by Md. biotech
By Tricia Bishop / Baltimore Sun Staff
Originally published February 5, 2005
Shares of Martek Biosciences Corp. rose nearly 13 percent yesterday after news that the Kellogg Co. plans to fortify food with one of the Columbia biotech's products as early as next year.
Martek announced the deal yesterday morning, but only described the partner as a Fortune 500 consumer-product food company. Kellogg, the Battle Creek, Mich., company that is the nation's top breakfast cereal manufacturer, was revealed as the company in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Martek's stock rose $7.50 yesterday, or 12.9 percent, to close at $65.25 on the New York Stock Exchange. The deal would potentially create a large new use for Martek's manufactured DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid found naturally in certain fish and plants.
Martek harvests DHA from algae using a patented technique. It already sells the substance as a nutritional supplement in more than two-thirds of the world's baby formula. Sales have been fueled by research showing that DHA boosts brain and eye development in babies.
"Like the infant formula companies, food companies are recognizing the importance of DHA to human nutrition," said Martek Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Henry "Pete" Linsert Jr.
The 15-year license agreement requires Kellogg to develop products containing Martek's DHA and to display the Martek logo on its packaging.
Final Note: Yahoo!!!!!
By the way: Another stock I currently like: OVTI
They officially announce earnings Feb 28
See this post:
Message 20922725
Stock currently at $16.71.
Forward PE = 13
PEG = 0.55
Current PE = 13
Good luck to all,
Peter |
