Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Maxygen Surges 23% on Sale of Astellas Joint Venture Stake

Maxygen Inc. (NASDAQ: MAXY) shares surged to close at $5.14 today, gaining more than 23% on the day after the company announced that it would be selling its stake in Maxygen Astellas Joint Venture to Astellas Pharma Inc. The deal is likely to be worth $76 million. The venture had been designed to develop protein based therapy for treating autoimmune conditions. The drugs are to be designed to reduce immune system activity. Both the companies started their collaboration in 2008 and formed the joint venture, Perseid in 2009. The companies are looking to finalize the deal during the second quarter of the year. With this deal, Astellas will get almost 100% stake in the candidate.
Maxygen recently announced its fourth-quarter and full-year results. The company reported its net income for the fourth quarter at $69.9 million, up from a loss of $3.7 million a year earlier. The company announced its quarterly revenue at $5.9 million, down from $13.3 million in revenue it had reported a year earlier. Maxygen also announced its full year results. The company reported its net income for the full year at $68.9 million. It had incurred a loss of $32.4 million in the previous year.
Maxygen is a biopharmaceutical firm involved in the development of improved versions of protein drugs. The company makes use of its MolecularBreedign directed evolution technology platform. It also uses its protein modification expertise. The company also works in the field of biocatalytic process technologies for industrial chemical applications. The company was formed in 1996 and is based out of California.
The company stock is currently trading at $5.05, up 22.87% from its previous close. Maxygen stock opened at $5.42 and touched the high of $5.45. The stock's lowest price in today's session is $4.94. The company stock's EPS is $2.35. The company stock has traded in the range of $3.75 and $7.19 during th! e past 5 2 weeks. The company's market cap is $151.89 million and its P/E ratio is 2.15.
Maxygen reported its total current assets at $141.918 million for the year ending Dec 31, 2010. Its total assets were worth $146.986 million for the same time period. Maxygen had valued its total liabilities at $20.883 million. The company had reported its revenue at $37.601 million and its gross profit for the year at $37.601 million. Maxygen' net income for the year stood at $68.884 million.
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