Biocompatibles Share Discussion Threads

[tratante] 21/3/2006 16:09

Beginning to edge up I think.

[tratante] 15/3/2006 07:23

Good news on the stent front from Abbott, stents will still be an important revenue stream for BII if progress continues in this vein (sorry!)

[tratante] 14/3/2006 09:04

I hope so, but another broker put a target of about 350 on this several months ago and look what's happened since. I can't really see any reason for the fall so far, apart from general lack of interest. Should be some trial updates in the next couple of months which will perhaps give it a shove.

[cimbom] 13/3/2006 17:01

trib4buy:

Thanks for that.It sounds like we should have some good times ahead.

[tratante] 13/3/2006 16:41

thanks Trib. I assume what they are saying is that the market still sees this as a stent company and so hasn't realised the potential of the bead technology.

They are currently trialing colo-rectal as well as liver cancer and there is also the treatment for uterine fibroids. The latter could do very well, much less invasive thus faster recovery times as well as cheaper than current treatments.

[tratante] 13/3/2006 16:36

I thought this bb was dying like the share price Good to see signs of life in both!

This share price has fallen way too far in my opinion given the potential for this company. They are making excellent progress with all aspects of the bead technology and it looks like the stent business by Abbott will do well as an added bonus. Been overlooked for too long but DYOR.

[trib4ubuy] 13/3/2006 16:35

Sorry, only seen a hard copy but a couple of key comments:


"The company currently carries an enterprise value of £38m based on YE-06 cash,
or £27m based on YE-05 cash. We believe that this is a woeful undervaluation of the company's assets..."

"the equity market is ignoring the value of BII's drug eluting bead technology for cancer. This is despite very positive data reported from the Barcelona clinical trial in primary liver cancer and the preliminary data from the
similar Hong Kong trial"

"We believe the current stock weakness provides a great buying opportunity"

[cimbom] 13/3/2006 16:19

Would it be possible to post it?

[trib4ubuy] 13/3/2006 15:25

very positive note out from piper jaffray - price target 486p

[tratante] 08/3/2006 10:08

Prelim results tomorrow!

[tratante] 22/2/2006 20:28

Prelim results 9 March.

[tratante] 22/2/2006 17:16

I am finding it hard to understand what's going on here. They are coming up to results and I would have expected them to begin moving upwards. Indeed I thought that change in trend had begun a couple of weeks ago. The results of the bead trials are looking very positive and the only concern would be the takeover of guidant by Abbott, but there has been a reassuring anouncement that the latter will continue to market the BII stent along with the guidant device. If I were you I would hold at least until the results on the grounds that they should be good and the share price might start to climb in anticipation. I wouldn't have thought there can be much more downside from here -but famous last words... so no advice intended.

[tommy ten chins] 22/2/2006 12:07

I've held these for years but am fed up with 'em. I've seen a massive paper profit (last century) diminish into a tiny gain.

I want to sell, does anyone have any comments to persuade me either way?

Thanks.


TT

[2bob] 25/1/2006 23:50

Abbott may well be saying now Biocompatibles who??? Are Abbott really going to sell 2 competing stents after paying 6.4 billion dollars to get one of them.(please don't remind me what BII sold their DES for). I think the best that can be hoped for is Guidant put the PC polymer on their next generation stent after the current one in development. That adds another 2/3 years to royalty expectations.
#########################

Boston Scientific Wins Battle for Guidant
Wednesday January 25, 6:24 pm ET
By Ashley M. Heher, AP Business Writer
Guidant Jilts Johnson & Johnson in Favor of $27.2 Billion Offer From Boston Scientific

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Guidant Corp. jilted longtime suitor Johnson & Johnson Wednesday in favor of a $27.2 billion offer from rival Boston Scientific Corp., ending one of the most highly charged bidding wars in years.

The move capped nearly two months of negotiations and sweetened deals from J&J and Boston Scientific, which saw the Indianapolis-based company as an opening to the $10.3 billion cardiac device market.

But Guidant also is grappling with months of product recalls and is less than a month away from the first of what could be several product liability trials. Securities analysts say it ultimately could be liable for as much as $2 billion in damages.

Shares of Boston Scientific and Guidant fell about 2 percent Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange, an indication that some investors believed Boston Scientific's $80-per-share offer was too high.

"Clearly, they paid a full price for it and there are uncertainties associated with Guidant," said David A. Katz, chief investment officer at Matrix Asset Advisors in New York, which owns about 1.5 million shares of Natick, Mass.-based Boston Scientific. "But (the deal) does change the whole business and the franchise of Boston for the better, assuming they pull it off."

Since June, Guidant has recalled or issued safety advisories on about 88,000 defibrillators and more than 200,000 pacemakers. At least seven deaths have been linked to the faulty devices.

The regulatory investigations and dozens of lawsuits that followed made J&J think twice about what it was willing to pay.

The New Brunswick, N.J.-based company initially offered $25.4 billion for Guidant in December 2004 but wavered after the recalls began. Guidant sued to close the deal, and the companies agreed to a revised J&J offer of $21.5 billion in November.

In December, Boston Scientific presented an unsolicited, $25 billion bid for Guidant, triggering the bidding war.

Guidant last week declared Boston Scientific's latest offer superior to J&J's top bid of $71 a share. A five-day period for J&J to respond expired at midnight without any action by the company.

J&J said Wednesday that topping its last $24.2 billion offer would not have been in the best interest of its shareholders.

John Putnam, an analyst with Stanford Group Co., said a higher bid by J&J would have hindered the health products company's ability to negotiate future acquisitions.

"For them to bid more than they originally bid would have signaled to other potential acquisitions that they didn't have the financial discipline they've always been known for," he said.

The acquisition, expected to be completed at the end of the first quarter, must be approved by shareholders from both companies as well as regulators in the U.S. and Europe. No date has been set for the votes.

"We believe the transaction and the strategic rationale for this combination are in the best interests of our patients, employees, customers and shareholders -- reflecting the full value of our firm," Guidant CEO Jim Cornelius said in a statement.

In addition to the cash and stock deal, Boston Scientific will pay the $705 million breakup fee Guidant owes J&J for walking away.

Boston Scientific has said it is confident it can restore trust in Guidant's pacemaker and defibrillator business.

"We look forward to working with Guidant to complete the transaction quickly and to creating a global leader in cardiovascular devices," said Jim Tobin, Boston Scientific's president and chief executive, in a statement Wednesday.

Combined, Boston Scientific and Guidant could have 2006 revenue of nearly $9 billion.

In filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission this month, Boston Scientific said Guidant's pacemakers and defibrillators could account for nearly one-quarter of projected sales. The heart device market is expected to grow by nearly 25 percent by 2008.

That growth will likely offset any of Guidant's legal liability that Boston Scientific may have to absorb.

"I think it's good for Guidant shareholders," said Jan Wald, an analyst with A.G. Edwards & Sons. "I think, even though it's dilutive, and perhaps dilutive for a long time, it's a good strategic move on Boston Scientific's part."

Boston Scientific plans to sell Guidant's line of drug-coated stents to Abbott Laboratories Inc. for $6.4 billion in cash. That includes a $900 million loan and Abbott's agreement to acquire $1.4 billion of Boston Scientific common stock.

Guidant shares fell $1.59, or 2.1 percent, to close at $75.19 on the New York Stock Exchange. J&J shares fell 86 cents, or 1.5 percent, to finish at $58.50 and Boston Scientific shares fell 46 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $23.54.

[hectorp] 24/1/2006 09:24

A chartist would be a buyer here... but don't know enough about the company's fortunes ... as the above post suggests there are pitfalls?
What would create a good bounce from here.

[2bob] 11/1/2006 21:00

I note the RNS today of another non-exec director. Another waste of time director here or there will make no difference if Abbott buy Guidant - the news of which has gone uncommented on here so far. Abbott have device sales of $200 p/a Buying Guidant's vascular business will add $1bn of sales p/a - that's 5 times larger. Will the tail wag the dog? NIH (not invented here) syndrome is alive and well at Guidant. Thus, I would expect that the Guidant R&D guys will push ahead with their own internal Xience drug eluting stent programmes and the Zomaxx/PC polymer will be an also ran. It is my opinion that BII shareholders need to keep their fingers crossed that JNJ rather than Boston win control of Guidant which will allow Abbott to access a rapid exchange catheter (more deliverable = greater sales= more royalties) from JNJ and not via purchase of a division of Guidant from Boston.

[mikehardman] 03/1/2006 15:07

chart bouncing off 4yr rising S and 200p S/R level, targets 270 and 400p (levels) feasible?

Helped up a little more by some news tody.
No position, as lost touch, dunno how much of their big cash pile they've still got, etc.

[hectorp] 29/12/2005 09:22

Hi BII's
sorry been out of the way of looking in for last 2 weeks.
I've no idea what the short term share price here may do.
As one of a batch of stock in a folio, its not really a problem , but I'd place a 15% stop loss on all my selection of Bio stocks.
PS I have not yet bought them as some have drifted recently.
HAppy new year all
H.

[robin_of_loxley] 16/12/2005 08:41

apologies re temporary disruption to charts - bigcharts seem to be having a technical hitch on their site, reckon will likely be fixed soon

[tratante] 12/12/2005 23:18

Interesting to see how it goes Hectorp. I agree BII should do well over the next year, the bead technology is looking very promising, on top of what they earn from the stent licence. Want to see it settle first, any thoughts on how low it might go? In OXB and ASD too. Former looks a bit sick given where it was a couple of months ago, but long term will do very well.

[robin_of_loxley] 12/12/2005 13:09

Hi Hectorp - thanks - interesting

[hectorp] 11/12/2005 18:02

I see Robin of Loxley is here.
I held these stocks 3-5 years ago and traded them to some reward.
I saw the I-Cron ran a page last week including BII as one of 6 stocks to hold in the UK Bio sector. If the current price is a worry to anyone, buy the 6 shares for a good return in 2006, assuming as I do, that the sector will do 'better than the average sector, Booboo'. I suggest the UK Bio sector is a no-brainer for several reasona I wont go on about now. Anyhow, the stocks may include BII as one sixth of a holding in BII CAT NTP PSK VEC and AZM. I'd be inclined also to give biuased weighting to CAT and BII, and I also hold a fair bit of OXB, not in fact tipped but I'll hold it.
See how that little portfolio works out. I suspect an average gain of 20% for 2006, with less worry than in many sectors. all IMO of course. I'd rather set it up than invest in a 'Biotech fund' if one in fact exists.

[tratante] 09/12/2005 13:15

Nice analysis Spyder and I know your question is rhetorical, but I would say the answer is no. Never quite understand the swings in this share given the story is unfolding nicely - although your explanation above could well account for the most recent.

[spyder] 09/12/2005 07:02

Lombard Medical Technology has announced that it is to be valued at £77.7M (£16M cash) at the placing price. BII is presently also valued at £77M with £37M cash (104p per share) to remain at the year end. Abbott have forecast a market share for Zomaxx of 10-30%. If we assume that without access to the Rx system (worst case scenario) limits the market share to the bottom end of the range (say 10%) this gives a net present value to each BII share of 79p. With the cash this = 183p per share. Is the rest really only worth 33p per share?
spyder

[robin_of_loxley] 08/12/2005 01:06

tratante

I didnt mean to include it, but feel free - be aware though, I dont check the email that regularly though....