Shares of Icosavax (NASDAQ:ICVX) soared by more than 40% in pre-market trading after announcing that AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) will acquire the vaccine company for around $1.1 billion.
The biopharmaceutical giant will acquire Icosavax’s outstanding shares for $15 per share in cash, including a “non-tradable contingent value right for up to $5.00 per share in cash payable upon achievement of a specified regulatory milestone and a sales milestone.”
The upfront cash portion indicates a transaction value of around $0.8 billion, a premium of 43% to ICVX’s closing market price on December 11, and a premium of 73% to the 60-day volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of $8.68 before this announcement.
The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024.
The proposed acquisition is expected to “build on AstraZeneca’s expertise in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), strengthening the [company’s] Vaccines & Immune Therapies late-stage pipeline with Icosavax’s lead investigational vaccine candidate, IVX-A12.”
IVX-A12 is a potential first-in-class, Phase III-ready, combination protein VLP [virus-like particle] vaccine that targets both RSV and human metapneumovirus (hMPV). RSV and hMPV are “two leading causes of severe respiratory infection and hospitalization in adults 60 years of age and older.” Currently, there are no treatments for hMPV and RSV.
Is AstraZeneca a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Analysts remain bullish about AZN stock with a Strong Buy consensus rating based on four Buys. In the past year, AZN stock has slid by more than 6%, and the average AZN price target of $81.50 implies an upside potential of 28.4% at current levels.
