2 Biotechs Insiders Just Bought $70 Million Worth of Stock In

June 8, 2017
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff

NEW YORK – Investor watchers should pay close attention to the stock prices of two biotech companies as two insiders just snapped up $70 million worth of shares. Those deals could signal expected gains in share prices over the coming months.

On Wednesday The Street’s Roberto Pedone reported an unnamed insider at Bioverativ , Biogen ’s hemophilia and blood disorder spin-off company, acquired 90,000 shares valued at $5.03 million. At Regeneron , an insider acquired 136,050 shares valued at $65.05 million.

Pedone noted that insiders typically buy large blocks of shares if they believe the stock is undervalued and expect to make big gains.

Shares of Regeneron are trading at $481.01 as of 10:13 a.m. and shares of Bioverativ are trading at $56.96 as of the same time today.

Pedone said Bioverativ, which launched earlier this year, could see long-term growth of up to $75 per share. The company is anticipating strong growth in its first year of about 27.8 percent. Growth is projected to continue through the next fiscal year at 17 percent. Bioverativ has a cash position of about $358 million with zero debt, Pedone said.

Bioverativ launched in January 2017 with two approved Biogen hemophilia drugs, Alprolix and Electate, which generated $500 million in revenue in 2015. The new company has already flexed its M&A muscle. In May, the company announced it was acquiring South San Francisco-based True North Therapeutics for up to $825 million. That acquisition brings True North’s experimental TNT009, a first-in-class monoclonal antibody to treat cold agglutinin disease, into the company’s pipeline.

For Regeneron, Pedone said he anticipates potential upside growth of up to $520 per share. Tarrytown, N.Y.-based Regeneron has an estimated growth rate of 11.8 percent this year and a growth rate of 21 percent next year. The company is “cash-rich” with its cash on hand of $1.3 billion being nearly double its debt of $700 million.

Regeneron and its long-time development partner Sanofi have been on a roll, snagging regulatory approval for two drugs from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this year. In May, the FDA approved its rheumatoid arthritis drug sarilumab, now dubbed Kevzara. The drug is expected to generate $557 million in annual revenue by 2022. In March, the FDA approved Dupixent (dupilumab) for the treatment of adults with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis.

In addition to the expansion of its pipeline, Regeneron has been expanding its footprint in New York by acquiring property that will allow it to expand its office and lab space. For the past two years, the company has expanded with the addition of nearly 1,500 employees. In 2015 alone, the company hired 1,200 employees worldwide, with about 950 for its New York locations.