Healthcare Stocks That Hit New Highs ( GSK,BIO,EPIX,...)

(RTTNews) - The following are the healthcare stocks that hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday.

1. GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) hit a new high of $43.31 in intraday trading on Wednesday before closing at $43.27. The stock has gained nearly 13% year-to-date.

Yesterday, GSK's ovarian cancer drug Zejula (niraparib) got FDA approval for a new indication - for the treatment of advanced ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer patients who have been treated with three or more prior chemotherapy regimens and whose cancer is associated with either BRCA mutation or Homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) and have progressed more than six months after the last platinum-based chemotherapy.

ZEJULA received its initial approval in March 2017, for the maintenance treatment of patients with recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer regardless of BRCA mutation or biomarker status.

The company has a strong pipeline of investigational drugs including;

- Otilimab in Phase III study in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

-Benlysta (belimumab) + Rituxan (Rituximab) in Phase III study in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

- Daprodustat, which successfully completed Phase III study in Anemia associated with chronic renal disease, that was conducted in Japan. The company has submitted NDA to the Japanese regulator in August.

- MMR vaccine Priorix, for children in Phase III study. Positive results were reported in March this year.

- Trelegy Ellipta (fluticasone furoate/umeclidinium/vilanterol), proposed for the treatment of Asthma completed phase III trial successfully and supplemental NDA is submitted to the FDA. Trelegy Ellipta was approved in September 2017 for the treatment of patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

Two days back, the company announced its decision to divest its travel vaccines Rabipur (Rabavert) for the prevention of rabies, and Encepur for the prevention of tick-borne encephalitis, to Bavarian Nordic, as part of its strategy to focus on growth areas. As part of the agreement, GSK will receive an upfront payment of approximately EUR301 million, milestone payments of EUR495 million and also additional proceeds over the course of the supply arrangements that sums up to EUR 955million.

The company had revenues of £15.47 billion in the first half of 2019 compared with £14.53 billion in the year-ago period. Third-quarter results are expected to be reported on October 30, 2019.

2. Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. (BIO) recorded a new high of $349.99 on Wednesday before closing at $348.48. The stock is up 50% year-to-date.

Bio-Rad develops, manufactures, and markets a broad range of innovative products for the life science research and clinical diagnostic markets.

In August this year, Fitch Ratings upgraded Bio-Rad's Long-Term Issuer- Default (IDR) to "BBB" from "BBB-." The upgrade reflects Bio-Rad's improved EBITDA and FCF margins, which, according to Fitch Ratings, are trending toward industry averages as a result of cost rationalization initiatives and improvement of internal controls. Also, Moody's had upgraded the company to Baa2 from Baa3 in June this year.

The company's second-quarter net sales were $572.6 million, a decrease of 0.6 percent compared to $575.9 million reported for the second quarter of 2018. Q3 results are expected to be reported on October 31, 2019.

For the full year 2019, the company anticipates revenue growth of approximately 4.0 to 4.5 percent, while analysts expect revenue growth of 2.3%.

3. ESSA Pharma Inc. (EPIX) jumped to a new high of $4.54 on Wednesday before closing at $4.35. The stock has gained nearly 100% year-to-date.

ESSA focuses on the development of small molecule drugs for the treatment of prostate cancer.

The company's lead drug candidate EPI-7386, an N-terminal domain androgen receptor inhibitor, proposed for the treatment of prostate cancer, is in preclinical studies. New data were reported in September. The company plans to start clinical studies in the first quarter of 2020.

4. LeMaitre Vascular Inc. (LMAT) hit a new high of $36.5 on Wednesday before closing at $36.00. The stock has jumped approximately 50% year-to-date.

LeMaitre Vascular designs, manufactures and markets devices for the treatment of peripheral vascular disease.

Last week, the company has acquired the biologic patch business of Admedus Ltd, an Australian company, for $15.5 million, of which $14.2 million was paid at closing.

The acquired patches, marketed under the brands CardioCel and VascuCel had brought in sales of $7.1 million, mostly in the US and Europe.

Yesterday, LeMaitre reported third-quarter sales of $29.1 million, a 20% increase from the same quarter of last year.

The company sees sales in the range of $30.1 million to $30.9 million in the fourth quarter. Analysts' expectation is $29.98 million.

For the full-year 2019, the company has forecast sales in the range of $117.2 million to $118.0 million, while analysts expect $116.17 million in revenue for the period.

5. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ARWR) jumped to a new high of $40.09 on Wednesday before closing at $39.65. The stock has gained more than 200% year-to-date.

The company's lead drug candidate, ARO-AAT, is being investigated for the treatment of Alpha-1 liver disease associated with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), a rare genetic disorder that severely damages the liver and lungs.

A pivotal Phase 2/3 clinical study of ARO-AAT in participants with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, dubbed SEQUOIA, is underway. The first patient was dosed in August of this year.

Another drug in the pipeline, JNJ-3989, formerly ARO-HBV, which the company is co-developing with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, is in a REEF-1 phase IIb study in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection. Janssen paid Arrowhead $25 million in milestone payment for the study.