Still going down after hours. Check todays sector news--- SCLN is mentioned! It indicates current mgmt should not be in charge of a corner lemonade stand! The Friday bomb was not enough to hold much of the selling-- more to come by the looks of things, IDIOTS!
New York, May 11, 2001 (123Jump via COMTEX) -- Friday, the Nasdaq Biotechnology
Index gave up 4.97 points to close just below the 900 mark at 899.65. The Amex
Biotechnology Index fell 6.59 points to 543.2.
Among the most actively traded stocks in the sector, Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP)
topped the list, gaining 1.2, or 3.24% to 38.3 on rumors that Merck & Co. Inc.
(MRK) was ready to pay $91 billion, or $65 per share, to acquire the company.
Merck shares slipped 58 cents to 75.94.
The drug-making giant is feeling an itch in its wallet of late. Merck announced
this morning the purchase of genomics technology firm Rosetta Inpharmatics Inc.
(RSTA), valued at $620 million.
Under the proposed buyout, each share of Rosetta stock will be converted into
0.2352 shares of Merck, which represents a value of $18 per Rosetta share based
on Merck's Thursday closing price. Rosetta was one of the top gainers today,
surging 7.43, or 75%, to 17.34.
Shares of pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. (PFE) shed 74 cents to 43. Today, a
federal advisory panel ruled that Pfizer's Zyrtec allergy medication was safe
enough to be sold without a prescription.
Shares of Novartis AG (NVS) gave up 1.25, or 3%, to 40.4 after surging almost 7%
yesterday on the news that the FDA had approved its oral cancer drug for the
treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia in record time. The drug will be marketed
as Gleevec in the United States, and as Glivec outside the country.
Shares of global biotechnology company Amgen Inc. (AMGN) picked up 42 cents to
60.6. The company announced this week that it would raise the price of its
flagship drug, Epogen, by 3.9%. Epogen is a treatment for anemia in patients
undergoing kidney dialysis.
Shares of Renal Care Group Inc. (RCGI) climbed 1.27, or almost 5%, to 26.84.
Following Amgen's decision, Renal care announced that the price increase would
impact its earnings in 2002, perhaps by as much as 5 cents to 7 cents per share.
Shares of medical device maker Medtronic Inc. (MDT) retreated 81 cents to 42.64.
Thomas Weisel announced that it had started coverage of the stock with a "market
perform" rating.
IDEC Pharmaceuticals Inc. (IDPH) fell 81 cents to 52. The company reported that
it would produce more data on its experimental cancer therapy Zevalin, at the
FDA's request, by mid-July.
In other news, Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock's rating from "outperform" to
"strong buy," citing encouraging Zevalin news.
McKesson Hboc Inc. (MCK) surrendered 40 cents to 33.5 in active trading.
Yesterday, the company announced that it had signed a five-year pharmaceutical
supply agreement with a major retail drug store chain. Under the deal, McKesson
will be the primary supplier of pharmaceutical products for more than 1,400
stores across the country.
Shares of emerging pharmaceutical firm ALZA Corp. (AZA) picked up 13 cents to
47. Yesterday, the company was advised that the regulatory waiting period for
its $10.2 billion merger with health care products titan Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
had ended early. J&J shares nudged up 2 cents to 97.26.
BioChem Pharma Inc. (BCHE) and Shire Pharmaceuticals Plc (SHPGY) announced today
that their merger had successfully closed. BioChem shares gained 1.1, or 3.07%,
to 36.95; Shire moved up 1.3 to 48.9.
Among yesterday's movers, shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) lost 37
cents to 10.48, after climbing nearly 6% Thursday. Genzyme General (GENZ) fell
2.11 to 103.98.
Both companies reported positive results from their experimental treatment -
Aldurazyme - for a rare genetic illness, MPS-1. After two years of treatment,
patients either sustained or improved upon clinical results recorded at the end
of one year of therapy.
Shares of Regeneron Technologies (RTIX) continued their slide, giving up an
additional 29 cents to 11. Yesterday, shares plummeted more than 15% on news
that the FDA was concerned about the safety of the company's BioCleanse process.
Ocular Sciences (OCLR) jumped 2.38, or 13.73%, to 19.71 after the company posted
first-quarter earnings of $7.9 million, or 33 cents per share - up from last
year's profit of $7.1 million, or 31 cents per share. Robert W. Baird upgraded
its rating on the stock from "market outperform" to "strong buy."
Shares of Gliatech Inc. (GLIA) retreated 13 cents to 3.83 after the company
admitted that it had received a warning letter from the FDA regarding a clinical
trial site used in its studies of ADCON-L.
SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc. (SCLN) was one of the top losers on the market
today, sliding 93 cents, or 19.79%, to 3.77. The company reported that its
first-quarter net loss had widened to 7 cents per share, missing estimates of a
penny per share. |
