Amgen Inc. has agreed to acquire private biopharmaceutical company Rodeo Therapeutics Corporation for a total consideration of $721 million. This includes a $55 million upfront payment and milestone payments of up to $666 million.
Rodeo is focused on developing small molecule therapies for the regeneration and repair of multiple tissues. Its development program, 15-PGDH, complements Amgen’s (AMGN) inflammation product portfolio and focus on developing first-in-class therapeutics.
Amgen’s Senior Vice President of Global Research, Raymond Deshaies, said, “The enzyme 15-PGDH plays a key role in many disease-relevant processes such as stem cell self-renewal and epithelial barrier repair. Given the encouraging preclinical data to date, we are excited about the opportunity to develop a novel therapy with potential in a range of important inflammatory disease indications.”
Rodeo’s President and CEO, Thong Q. Le, said, “We are thrilled that Amgen recognizes the potential value and differentiated profile of our 15-PGDH inhibitor program.” (See Amgen stock analysis on TipRanks)
On March 29, Oppenheimer analyst Jay Olson reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a target price of $266 (6.51% upside potential).
Olson commented, “On the top line, we believe Amgen is in a position to maintain long-term revenue growth as mature products fade while the R&D pipeline continues to more than compensate with innovative new products. Amgen offers a dividend yield >3%, which we believe provides valuation support.”
Turning to the rest of the Street, the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating alongside an average analyst price target of $261.29 (4.6% upside potential), based on 9 Buys and 7 Holds. Shares have gained about 19.8% over the past year.
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