Biocompatibles Share Discussion Threads

[tratante] 27/9/2005 23:34

RoL sorry I forgot to mention their partnership with Abbott in the development of the ZoMaxx drug eluting stent- but I am sure you will have seen that for yourself in the interims. "We estimate that a 10% share would represent a royalty stream to Biocompatibles with a net present value of #28m."

[robin_of_loxley] 27/9/2005 19:39

Thanks for your thoughts tratante and ntv

RoL
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[ntv] 27/9/2005 17:21

hi rol
have been a holder here as you know in the past
no holding at present but it might be worth me looking into these
thanks for bringing it to my attention
can you lend me some time to investigate these properly,never enough of that damn stuff in any day!!!
trouble is most of these bio firms seem to lose shareholders much quicker than oil at present so i am sticking to the latter at present
good luck
atb
ntv

[tratante] 27/9/2005 17:01

The Count is absolutely right, they did sell off the family silver (much to the disappointment of many of us - although they did return some of it to shareholders) and for a while they looked like a cash pile with no reason to exist as a company. However, since then they have developed the bead technology for the treatment of both benign and malignant tumours. I think there is a lot of potential here because they are treating the commonplace more effectively without surgery (fibroids) and the intractable. An additional advantage of the technology is that there are unlikely to be the unexpected side effects that might result from new drug treatments. So far they are making steady progress in the development of these treatments and the trials are going well. A further update is expected in the autumn.

As for my own investment history in BII, since the stent days (they still receive royalties from Abbott for these) I have tended to dip in and out (not my usual pattern). Of late they have tended to move in rather large steps and although by nature I am a long term holder (c.f. NTX!) I am not prepared see my stake fall to a significant loss anymore. Its possible they are still suffering from the hangover of their past behaviour which is tending to put off long term holders. But overall I think there is a lot of potential here and some very big markets and at the momment this is not reflected in the price. Good luck if you decide to dip a toe.

[robin_of_loxley] 27/9/2005 14:48

The Count was kind enough to get back to me with his view - he has not been a holder for a while now, so his view may no longer hold if BII has substantially reinvented itself? Question is, has it? Before anyone criticises the Count - he is not deramping - I asked him for his view, as from looking at the old thread I thought that it would be a contrary one to the bulls...always good to hear both sides....

RoL
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"THE COUNT--->ROBIN_OF_LOXLEY

I sold my last BII shares around the time that the cardiology division was sold off to Abbott for what some of us regarded to be a steal. A group of us challenged the board at an EGM (we tried to vote it down but they had the institutional block vote)...we actually made it into a few of the broadsheets too. Now what is left there is a company that is effectively a cash shell but still trading on the pretext that there are technologies there to commercialise. On that pretext, the CEO is paying himself in excess of £400k for really just sitting on a pile of money....something that you or I could do just as effectively. I haven't been close to the company now for around 3 years so I really couldn't comment in any detail.

I could have commented on the historical stuff because I knew the company like the back of my hand...the same goes for BPRG nowadays too although I do retain a small holding in that one for old times sake. But I feel that past and present management have been , and are shafting the shareholders in both cases.

As for ASD, this is a company I have known well since 1996 and despite slippage in various ways, the company is now really poised to start delivering. I have been buying into this one strongly for the last couple of years so I am quite happy at the moment. £60m+ turnover is not found on trees...it's real, it's very material, it's very attractive to potential buyers of the company and it is poised to grow sharply for perhaps 10 years plus on just the present portfolio of products.

Sorry I could not really be of any more help. I do believe however that BII, if they had retained the excellent managemnt they once had at the operational level, then they could have been a billion pound company...as they once were.

Regards,

THE COUNT!"

[robin_of_loxley] 27/9/2005 14:31

Hi Tratante - so what do you think of zak-mir's 335p price target quoted by bipper9ers? Would be interesting to hear how long you have been in for, whether long term, whether you trade, and what you think about the share?

[tratante] 27/9/2005 14:26

PS would be good to have a more active thread, hasn't received a lot of BB interest of late.

[tratante] 27/9/2005 14:24

RoL - for info re your comment on OXB thread, the qualifying date for the 29p per share payout passed last week and the money will be paid this week.

[robin_of_loxley] 27/9/2005 13:21

Extract from June AGM statement:

23 June 2005

"The Chairman, Sir. Richard Needham, made the following comments:

"We are continuing to make good progress with our principal programmes.

Recruitment in the PRECISION I and PRECISION II trials is complete. We continue to expect presentation of final data in the fourth quarter of 2005. We remain in constructive discussions with the FDA about the US regulatory approval pathway. The IDE for the PRECISION IV trial design and a review of alternative strategies are both nearly complete. The Company expects to provide further updates at the time of the Interim Results.

With respect to Abbott's ZoMaxx Drug Eluting Stent programme, we were encouraged by an independent report recording Abbott's goal of achieving a peak share of the drug eluting stent market of 10-30%. We estimate that a 10% share would represent a royalty stream to Biocompatibles with a net present value of £28m.

CellMed, which we acquired in March, is progressing as expected and is focused on taking a second product into clinical development in the first half of 2006."

The Company's sales guidance remains unchanged at £3m - £4m. Year-end cash is expected to be £2m higher at £37m (after the proposed return of capital) following review of the anticipated operating and non-operating cash outflows. A £1m improvement is expected in each category as a result of a detailed post acquisition review of CellMed and a reduced warranty and indemnity exposure.

Subject to High Court approval, the Company expects to make the third return of capital payments to shareholders of 29p per share before the end of September.

The Board was encouraged to receive the following summary from RREV, the joint venture between the NAPF and ISS: "Overall, we commend the Company on its good corporate governance practices and on the general level of disclosure provided to shareholders in its annual report"."

[robin_of_loxley] 27/9/2005 13:12

Hi - would be interested in the views of tratante, NTV and the Count of BII future fortunes?

RoL
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[robin_of_loxley] 27/9/2005 12:44

nice post from the previous thread...

"bipper9ers - 14 Sep'05 - 13:08 - 200 of 216

Buy Biocompatibles with a target of 335p
Says Zak Mir of Zaks-TA.com

As far as biotech stocks are concerned it is probably Biocompatibles that is the company for those of a nervous disposition. Given the reputation of the sector for delivering nasty surprises the shares have been an oasis of tranquillity. Although thankfully it is beyond the remit of a chartist to go in depth as far as the fundamentals are concerned, the last major newsflow from Biocompatbles was that it was going to return to return 29p per share to shareholders by the end of September, following the settlement of its Isotent litigation.

The value of investments can go down as well as up. Investing in equities can lose you part or all of your capital. Smaller company shares can be relatively illiquid and thus hard to trade. And that makes such investments more of a high risk than larger company shares. Zaks-TA.com is owned by t1ps.com Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the FSA and can be contacted at 49 Rivington St, London EC2A 3QB or on 0207 033 9389

That was in May, but now that we are in September and it is the technicals of the situation that are the highlight. The main thing that can be seen from the daily chart is the way that the overall pattern since the end of 2003 has been a diverging triangle. This is one of the more positive formations in charting and in the case of this stock it allows us to project the stock far higher than it is now. The expected upside is as high as the late 2003 resistance line projection up to 335p. Rather usefully the most obvious stop loss is an end of day close below the 50 day moving average at 233p. Given that the RSI is at a relatively high 66 level, it may be that bulls of the stock wait for any dips towards the 50 day line to improve the risk / reward of the trade."

[robin_of_loxley] 27/9/2005 12:40

Hope you guys dont mind me setting up a new thread! I havent invested yet, but am strongly considering. Tratante recommended having a look at BII over on the OXB thread and I fancied looking at charts and news as part of the research...

Feel free to adopt this thread as the new one if you like it, and if you want anything added to the header, let me know...

here is the link:

regards

RoL
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[robin_of_loxley] 27/9/2005 12:36

Hope you guys dont mind me setting up a new thread! I havent invested yet, but am strongly considering. Tratante recommended having a look at BII over on the OXB thread and I fancied looking at charts and news as part of the research...

Feel free to adopt this thread as the new one if you like it, and if you want anything added to the header, let me know...

regards

RoL
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[spyder] 26/9/2005 19:57

Interesting snippet from Motley Fool:

"Last, but not least, there are widespread rumors that Johnson & Johnson may have to license out a part of its stent technology to secure government approval of its takeover of Guidant (NYSE: GDT - News). The technology in question is called rapid exchange. It facilitates the delivery of the stent -- so much so that it's basically the standard of care. Should J&J license this technology to either Medtronic or Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT - News), it could mean an incremental 10% or 20% of market share for one of these would-be rivals. At this point, I would assume that Johnson & Johnson would prefer to partner with Abbott, as they are a more distant and somewhat less-credible threat in the stent market."

Needless to say, an Rx license for ABT with give a significant boost to BII.

[tratante] 24/9/2005 15:31

Never knew that - you live and learn. Thanks

[scribbler101] 23/9/2005 16:54

tratante - no - when a share goes ex- div its price drops by the amount of the div. For small divs this is often lost in the day's movement, but on average - and in particulat for large divs = it certainly does happen.

Have a look at UU. graph to see the rise pre-div and sharp drop on ex- dates.

[tratante] 23/9/2005 16:16

Scribbler, I see what you mean, but with a divi you have the cash and your original shares ie one is better off as a result. In this instance what I have gained in cash I seem to have lost in shares. In other words they have just reorganised my finances but not made me any richer! - or am I still missing something.

Any thoughts on where they go from here?

[scribbler101] 23/9/2005 14:42

tratante - it IS a sort of one off divi. But in order to make their share price an uninterreupted series they have done it as what is effectively a compulsory partial share repurchase.

[tratante] 23/9/2005 13:54

Me too. Have to admit I misunderstood what was happending here. I assumed the 29p payment was a sort of one off divi. Now I see they have reduced the number of shares I hold to compensate for the money they have returned so overall I am no worse or better off. Is that right? In that case I am not really sure of the purpose of the exercise. couldn't they have bought back shares direct and used up the cash that way?

Apologies if I misled anyone by what I posted above. Hopefully I only decieved myself, although still in profit.

Anyone suggestions for where these are going next.

[spyder] 21/9/2005 07:47

In theory the share price shouldn't change at all in relation to the reorganisation and capital repayment, any change will reflect the fact that the 'new' shares will no longer have the prospect of a capital repayment (a negative influence) but there are fewer of them thereby increasing gearing (a positive influence) I guess market forces will decide which is more important. We will soon find out.

spyder

[fatnacker] 20/9/2005 17:07

could fall scribler , but maybe some of that ajustment is in the price allready, we will see tomorow . I would expect the share price to rise by 12% first thing to bring it in line with the new share structure but like i've said we will see in the morning.

[scribbler101] 20/9/2005 14:43

GSEED - I'm not holding at the moment so did not realise they were doing that share rejigging. But the point I was making still remains - the value of the holding will reduce by approx the 29p when the 29p is paid. So not a reason to delay selling if so minded.

[gseed] 20/9/2005 14:34

Scrlbbler.

As I understand it from the Company statements the price adjustment will be achieved by reducing the number of shares you own in the proportion of 84 shares for each 94 you currently own. The share price should not be affected by this.