For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – March 15, 2010 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Allergan, Inc. (AGN), Medicis Pharma (MRX), Signature Bank (SBNY), Washington Federal Inc. (WFSL) and Bank of America Corp. (BAC).
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Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:
Label Expansion for Botox
Allergan, Inc. (AGN) recently received good news with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granting approval to Botox for the treatment of increased muscle stiffness in the elbow, wrist and fingers in adults with upper limb spasticity.
The FDA approval comes after the company submitted additional data following the receipt of a complete response letter from the agency in May 2009.
Botox was originally developed for the treatment of certain ophthalmic movement disorders, but has since seen strong growth thanks to approval for additional indications.
Although Botox is known more for its cosmetic uses, therapeutic indications accounted for 52% of total Botox sales in 2009. Allergan has been working on gaining approval for additional indications for Botox. Botox sales declined marginally in 2009 mainly due to weak consumer spending, concerns regarding its safety record, and increased competition from Medicis Pharma’s (MRX) Dysport.
In order to drive growth, Allergan is currently conducting studies for several indications including chronic migraine, lower limb spasticity, neurogenic overactive bladder, idiopathic overactive bladder and benign prostate hyperplasia.
Treasury Sells Signature Warrants
The Treasury announced Thursday that it has received net proceeds of $11.2 million from the sale of warrants it obtained as part of its investment in New York-based Signature Bank (SBNY) through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) during the height of the financial crisis. In Mar 2009, Signature had repaid the entire $120 million of bailout money it had received from the government in Dec 2008.
The Treasury auctioned 595,829 warrants at $19.00 each. The final price was above the floor price of $16 per warrant set by Treasury. The Signature warrants have a strike price of $30.21 and expire in Dec 2018.
The current move will completely free Signature from government intervention. The auction for Signature warrants follows the sale of Washington Federal Inc.’s (WFSL) warrants on Wednesday and Bank of America Corp.’s (BAC) warrants last week. The government received net proceeds of $15.4 million from the sale of Washington Federal warrants and a record $1.5 billion from the sale of Bank of America warrants.
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