Trend Analysis Report: Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX), Yum China Holdings Inc (NYSE:YUMC)
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Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) gained 2.28% to $132.16 on Tuesday, adding about $8 billion to the company’s value, as the biotech drug maker declared positive results from clinical studies of its cystic fibrosis treatments, and boosted the company’s probability of becoming a buyout target, according to one analyst.
Shares jumped after the company said data from clinical studies of triple combinations of drug treatments using candidates VX-152, VX-440 and VX-659 showed an up to 12% average improvement in lung function in certain cystic fibrosis patients given the drugs.
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic defect that causes an abnormal buildup of mucus in the lungs leading to chronic infection and progressive lung damage. The studies treated cystic fibrosis patients with a gene mutation known as “delF508,” which interferes with a protein meant to maintain the balance of salt and water within a cell.
Vertex said it plans to start a mid-stage clinical study on VX-659 in early August and that a study of another drug known as VX-445 is already underway, with data on both predictable to come out in early 2018.
“With four active three-drug combinations, Vertex has many options to choose from in terms of its path forward, but within a year or two we cannot see any reason why 100% of the CF patient population who carry a delF508 allele (roughly 87% of the total prevalent pool of patients) will not be on one of these medicines,” said Geoffrey Porges, an analyst at Leerink, in a note.
Porges has an outperform rating on Vertex and last had a price target of $132 a share. The analyst said that the study results of pipeline drugs also boost the probability of Vertex becoming a buyout target.
“This disclosure confirms our bullish view, and also reinforces our views of the desirability and uniqueness of Vertex as an acquisition target for larger companies (some of them West Coast based),” said Porges. (Source: MarketWatch)
The stock settled at $132.16 per share, after floating in a range of $127.67 to $132.16. The stock moved on high volume, traded at a volume of 3.31 million shares, as compared to its average daily volume of 1.67 million shares. The market capitalization for the company is reported at $32.47 Billion.
Yum China Holdings Inc (NYSE:YUMC) opened at $37.03. It reached an intraday trading high of $37.24 and closed at $36.89. Yum China Holdings, Inc. (YUMC) recently declared the appointment of Mr. William Wang and Ms. Joey Wat to the Board of the Directors, effective right away. The appointment will increase the size of the Board of Directors to 12 members, 9 of whom are independent.
“It is my pleasure to welcome William Wang and Joey Wat to our Board of Directors,” said Yum China Non-executive Chairman Dr. Fred Hu. “William will bring to our Board deep knowledge and investment insights of the Chinese market. Joey, a talented Yum China executive, will add operation perspectives to our Board. I am confident that their participation will further benefit Yum China’s business and shareholders.”
Micky Pant, CEO of Yum China commented, “The addition of Joey and William to the Yum China Board will be another great step forward to become one of the world’s leading restaurant companies. They are unique business talents in China who can provide deep insights about the Chinese market across various sectors and both have an excellent forward looking planned perspective as well.”
William is one of the founding partners of Primavera Capital Group (“Primavera”). Before Primavera, William served as a Managing Director of Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking/Principal Investment Area (“GS”), where he led noteworthy successful investments in China for the group. Before GS, William worked in Investment Banking Division and Private Equity Group of China International Capital Corporation Limited (CICC). William presently serves as a director on the Board of Geely Automobile Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong listed company, in addition to the directorships at Primavera’s portfolio companies.
Joey Wat has served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Yum China since February 2017. She served as Chief Executive Officer, KFC from October 2016 to February 2017, a position she held at Yum! Restaurants China from August 2015 to October 2016. Ms. Wat joined Yum! Restaurants China in September 2014 as President of KFC China and was promoted to Chief Executive Officer for KFC China in August 2015. Before joining YUM, Ms. Wat served in both administration and strategy positions at AS Watson of Hutchison Group (“Watson”), an international health, beauty and lifestyle retailer, in the U.K. from 2004 to 2014. Her last position at Watson was Managing Director of Watson U.K., which operates Superdrug and Savers, two retail chains specializing in the sale of pharmacy and health and beauty products, from 2012 to 2014. She made the transition from Head of Strategy of Watson in Europe to Managing Director of Savers in 2007. Before joining Watson, Ms. Wat spent seven years in administration consulting counting with McKinsey & Company’s Hong Kong office from 2000 to 2003.
The stock price declined -0.02 points or -0.05% at the market. The total volume traded for the day is 2.07M lower as compared to its average daily volume of 3.9M shares. The current EPS for the company has been recorded at $1.48 and the beta value recorded by the company stands at 0.00 points.