Myriad Genetics on cusp of positive news events, says Piper Jaffray

After hosting investor meetings with management, Piper Jaffray analyst William Quirk believes Myriad Genetics (MGN) is “on the cusp of several positive news events.” Management is optimistic that they could get a draft local coverage determinations for expanded GeneSight coverage by Medicare, Quirk tells investors in a research note. He expects visibility on this by late March. Further, the analyst believes Counsyl’s April 1 in-network status with UnitedHealth (UNH) could lead to $6M-$7M upside to his current Q4 estimates. Quirk reiterates an Overweight rating on Myriad Genetics with a $47 price target.

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Apyx Medical posted another solid quarter, says Piper Jaffray

Piper Jaffray analyst Matt O’Brien says Apyx Medical posted another solid quarter in-line with its preannouncement, highlighted by “strong advanced energy growth off a tough comp.” While the company’s expense guidance may make the earnings outlook a little less favorable in the near-term, given the light penetration into this $1.5B market and the potential for several international expansions in 2019, its growth “should remain healthy for many years,” O’Brien tells investors in a research note. He encourages risk tolerant investors to own the name and reiterates an Overweight rating on Apyx Medical with a $10 price target.

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Sandoz CEO Francis to step down, Balestrieri named interim CEO

Novartis announced that Richard Francis will be stepping down as CEO of Sandoz, a Novartis division, and as a member of the Executive Committee of Novartis on March 31, 2019. Francesco Balestrieri, currently Region Head Europe, Sandoz, has been appointed ad-interim CEO Sandoz. He will report to Vas Narasimhan, CEO, Novartis. Regarding his decision to step down, Richard said; “The past five years have been immensely satisfying and rewarding. I am very proud of what we have achieved as a team. Together, we have expanded access to medicines across the world and reached many millions of patients. In particular, we have successfully launched five biosimilar products. As we announced earlier this year, Sandoz is embarking on a significant transformation. While I am excited by this, I realize that this is a multi-year journey which I cannot commit to and therefore have decided that now is the right time to step down.”

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Amag price target lowered to $14 from $17 at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Matthew Lillis lowered his price target for Amag Pharmaceuticals to $14 from $17 saying failure of the post-approval Makena trial is a “clear setback for the company.” The trial result reinforces the importance of the next 12-18 months for Amag to demonstrate that existing and pipeline assets can adequately replace lost Makena revenue, Lillis tells investors in a research note. He reiterates a Neutral rating on the shares.
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Cantor says Health Insurance, eHealth concerns over House probe overblown

The House Committee on Energy & Commerce announced yesterday that they have requested information and documents from 12 distributors of short-term, limited duration insurance plans. The E&C Committee believes the companies selling these products discriminate against individuals with pre-existing conditions and mislead consumers about the nature of the coverage they are purchasing, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Steven Halper tells investors in a research note. He points out that shares of Health Insurance Innovations (HIIQ) and eHealth (EHTH) traded sharply lower on the news. Health Insurance Innovations focuses mostly on short-term plans, while eHealth’s exposure is quite small, says Halper. The analyst, however, believes concerns regarding the request for information are overblown, as any proposed legislative action would likely not pass the Senate and would almost certainly be vetoed by President Trump. Further, he reminds investors that Health Insurance Innovations recently closed out a 43-state review with virtually no impact on its businesses. He reiterates Overweight ratings on both stocks.
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Aquestive Therapeutics sees FY19 revenue $33M-$45M, consensus $48.62M

Sees FY19 Suboxone and Sandoz Authorized Generic manufacturing volume of $23M-$30M; non-GAAP gross margins of 70% to 72% on total revenues; non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA loss of $40M-$45M; and cash burn of approximately $45M-$50M after considering interest, capital spending and working capital effects, but prior to any non-dilutive capital transactions.
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Anixa Biosciences granted additional cancer detection technology patent

Anixa Biosciences has been issued a Notice of Allowance by the USPTO for an additional cancer detection technology patent. This patent provides broader coverage for the use of Anixa’s technology in a wider range of applications and protects critical new improvements developed for Anixa’s cancer detection technology. This patented technology is a key component of Cchek, Anixa’s early cancer detection platform.
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