Science Share Discussion Threads

[battlebus2] 27/2/2015 15:20

Moving higher now, still undervalued at 160 imv...

[anumidium] 19/2/2015 17:57

atholl91: they could offer a tender @ 200p. MR just doesn't want to do that - presumably he didn't intend to take part hence did not want to offer a big premium.

I agree with battlebus that this reduces any risk of delisting. I am not sure this is a big issue anyway given how much cheaper the shares were in the recent past.

[battlebus2] 19/2/2015 16:30

Thanks for the link Hastings..

[atholl91] 19/2/2015 16:04

why can't a tender offer at 200p for two or three million shares be done. Most will accept and it's tax efficient.

[hastings] 19/2/2015 15:08

hxxp://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Sagentia-acquires-Cambridge-firm-Oakland/story-26052324-detail/story.html

[oregano] 19/2/2015 08:34

Bitter sweet. MR wants his cake and to eat it, surely those shareholders would accept a tender at 1.60. Unsure if there is a technical reason why that can;t be done. Maybe MR would have to bid for the rest. Hopefully II's are pushing for a divi instead. Given the consistency of earnings, no reason it should be special.

[battlebus2] 19/2/2015 07:20

Great news this morning with an acquistion with cash and treasury shares, also the proposed return via tender would not recieve support at the current share price but other plans will be released with results on 3rd of March.
Special dividend?? Either way its good news to me and surely ends talk of delisting and allows the shares to continue their upwards trajectory.

[battlebus2] 18/2/2015 12:34

Great to see another tick up, mustn't be far from some news imv..


17 February 2015

We recently attended the 33rd Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco. This month, Sagentia’s VP of Surgical, Alistair Fleming, reflects on some of the major themes and topics highlighted during the event.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, data proved to be a frequent talking point at this year’s conference, with ‘information liquidity’ being a key theme, but what does this phrase mean? In the past, a lack of data stood in the way of better care. Now the opposite is true: healthcare is inundated with data. We have electronic patient records, tracking data on patient condition, co-morbidities and changes in scientific flow to give just a few examples. With this new wealth of data the healthcare industry is witnessing the emergence of an array of new services. These services are designed to enable ‘information liquidity’: streamline workflow, make data seamlessly available anywhere and at any time through easy but secure, sharing and storage.

One example offered at the conference focused around the area of Bioinformatics. Illumina’s BaseSpace, which has been developing over the past few years and is touted as the world’s largest genomics cloud with 125,000 runs of customer test data is a cloud computing environment for next-generation sequencing (NGS) data analysis and management. BaseSpace is designed to be flexible, available in both cloud and onsite solutions. The aim is to allow sequencing labs to easily and securely analyse, archive, and share sequencing data. Researchers can then simplify and accelerate NGS data analysis with push-button tools. BaseSpace is gathering interest from both customers and collaborators, but there are still many developments planned for the system and, as healthcare data services advance, we expect the field of Bioinformatics to receive increasing attention at investor updates over the next couple of years.

The opportunities for liquid biopsies – non-invasive blood tests for tumour diagnosis – and the recent advancements in genetic sequencing and molecular diagnosis, were also highlighted during the week’s proceedings. It is now possible to learn a great deal about what is occurring in a person’s body by testing a blood sample, a significantly less invasive method of investigation. While developments in the non-invasive pre-natal diagnostic market are well documented (including our client Premaitha), the applications for this approach in oncology are truly exciting and could transform clinical practice. Indicative signs in a sample of blood may help physicians detect cancerous tumours located elsewhere in the body. The current methods rely upon symptomatic presentation and imaging followed by tissue biopsies, which are costly, invasive and by definition only pick up a relatively progressed disease state. Liquid biopsies would minimise the need for hospital admissions and biopsy surgery for the patient, and could also enable more early-stage diagnosis, potentially to be carried out at home.

Finally, with the increased IPO and M&A activity experienced in 2014, attendees at the conference were bolstered by the news that confidence has returned and investors expect 2015 to see even higher levels of activity in these areas. The recent merger between Covidien and Medtronic was still causing a buzz and demonstrates the possibilities that such synergies can bring to the whole care pathway. For example, companies might provide products for use by surgeons in the operating room, as well as supplying services to patients post-operatively. Through the pooling of resources, this situation offers the potential to spread costs among all of the suppliers in the care pathway. More intriguingly however, the combined group has the ability to redistribute cost and associate value derived at one stage in the care pathway with cost incurred elsewhere. This could have significant benefit for both suppliers and patients. Cost efficiencies would be achieved by the suppliers, which could then be passed on to patients in the form of improved procedures and outcomes.

In all, it feels like 2015 starts with much promise and buzz in the industry. New technologies are driving innovation not just in products, but in services and business models in ways that could fundamentally transform the industry in coming years. Given the pressures on healthcare provision, this is welcome news.

[oregano] 16/2/2015 11:39

either way, well placed IC for bringing some attention to this, you seem to have got the shares going.

[battlebus2] 16/2/2015 08:07

Through 130p looks like a great week ahead :))

[anumidium] 12/2/2015 18:46

Agree Oregano, a decent divi would help underwrite the share price.

[oregano] 10/2/2015 09:02

IC - Ratcliffe is interested in capital growth, not distribution. So a trade sale is a possibility, but these businesses don't attract huge multiples as they have no contracted recurring income. I think the lack of distribution is a shame as whilst income is not contracted, it does recur. SAG could easily afford to pay out £3m in divis = a 6.5% yield. Which would get a fair bit of interest.

[anumidium] 10/2/2015 01:22

Well, its probably not this chat about the company being taken private ...

[battlebus2] 09/2/2015 21:06

Good rise today, anyone know what sparked it :))

[oregano] 09/2/2015 15:54

if he tenders nothing, his holding could go to 45%, so he effectively controls it. But he effectively controls it anyway now.

I just hope the tender is at a respectable price. which it should be otherwise people won't offer shares, as per the last tender at 85p. i think 160p this time.

[mjcrockett] 09/2/2015 15:49

Oregano, that's a good point. However, while the business has done OK over recent years it has not grown hugely and PERHAPS the Chairman is reviewing his plans.

It will be most interesting to see if he tenders a significant block of his shares in the upcoming tender offer. If he doesn't then he could considerably strengthen his holding in the company which would make a delisting or even a trade sale easier to push through. Such ideas may not have crossed Mr Ratcliffe's mind but you never know.

[oregano] 09/2/2015 12:11

those suspicions being what? taking it private? surely if that was the intention then he would have tried at 40p when he took his original stake.

[battlebus2] 28/1/2015 15:05

Thanks Hastings for your insight.

[hastings] 28/1/2015 14:55

Sagentia's exposure to the oil-gas and renewables is largely run through the 2013 acquisition of OTM. But, given Sagentia is effectively about bringing new ideas and products to market one would hope that area hasn't been too adversely hit. I would have thought the company has more than enough in terms of a diversified spread anyway, while one would hope they are also doing rather well at present within the area of robotics.Still feel the Harston Mill asset is also worth a fair bit more than the current book value too. Property on the South side of Cambridge is extremely well sought after, while rents across the board, are amongst the highest in the country.Nice company that has been turned around, solid balance sheet, highly regarded team and the added attraction of very nice margins.

[123prezzie] 28/1/2015 13:02

Does anyone know what proportion of their business comes from oil/gas/renewables. This sector is usually mentioned as the third most important, so I would guess 15/20%. Worries about this may be holding the price back.

[sailing john] 23/1/2015 14:16

EJ and MJC - spot on!

BB2 - Just doubled up on this pull back!

GL - SJ

[mjcrockett] 23/1/2015 14:12

Another factor is the £/$ exchange rate. The company say that profits for H2 2014 will be ahead of expectations because of the favourable movement in the exchange rate. Well the exchange rate has continued that favourable movement considerably into 2015. So, barring other problems, profits for 2015 should be further improved.