Bids Could Push Amylin Up Higher

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The roller coaster isn't over for the diabetes drug maker's stock, which first shot up in March over news that Bristol had placed a bid. But is the stock now overweight?

The last few months have been a roller coaster ride for Amylin Pharmaceutical’s stock. Good news at the end of March pushed the stock up high, but possibly too high, according to an analyst at Robert W. Baird & Co.

Bloomberg

Back in late March Amylin’s stock surged when reported that Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. tried to buy Amylin for $22 a share. This was shortly after Amylin’s long-acting diabetes drug Bydureon was approved. The company also received approval from the European Commission to use Byetta as a supplemental therapy to basal insulin.

On the day of the Bristol news, Amylin’s share price shot up more than 50%.

However in the last week, Amylin’s stock has begun to slowly creep back down, although it is still far above its stock price from early January. An analyst with Baird just downgraded the shares on Thursday, saying that the stock is overweight, according to the Associated Press.

Currently, the stock is trading at $26.89, and Baird’s Thomas Russo set a price target of $28. According to Russo, the interest in a sale will really dictate what happens with the share price.

By midday on Friday, the stock price jumped up 89 cents, or 3.42%, on the news that first round bids for the company were over $25 a share, according to CNBC.

Reuters reported that Bristol, AstraZeneca, Merck and Sanofi all put in bids for Amylin.

The information contained in this article should not be construed as investment advice or as a solicitation to buy or sell any stock.

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