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Thursday, April 11, 2019

Uber registers for IPO, eyes healthcare play

Less than two weeks after Lyft went public, Uber filed for an IPO with an aim on entry into healthcare.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Following a few weeks after Lyft went public, Uber filed for its long-awaited IPO.
Healthcare remains part of the ridesharing giant’s forward-looking strategy.
Uber Health, utilized by more than 100 healthcare organizations, is the centerpiece of its healthcare play.
Uber Technologies Inc. filed its form S-1 Thursday, a major step towards its much-anticipated initial public offering (IPO) and another indication that the company remains set on competing in healthcare.
The ridesharing giant’s filing comes less than two weeks after one of its primary competitors, Lyft Inc., went public on Wall Street. Lyft secured more than $2 billion on its first day offering.
Uber expects to sell approximately $10 billion worth of stock during its IPO set for some time in early to mid-May.
As Lyft did in its S-1 filing, Uber indicated it will be pursuing further expansion into the healthcare sphere by providing affordable, reliable transportation options for patients.

Uber Health, launched in March 2018, has been the primary vehicle for the ridesharing giant to partner with healthcare organizations.
The service, similar to Lyft’s Concierge feature, allows health system employees to arrange rides for patients and integrate the function into existing workflows.
The HIPAA-compliant division is headed by longtime healthcare consultant Aaron Crowell, who was brought on in December.
According to the company, more than 100 healthcare organizations have utilized Uber Health during its beta program and there is hope that that more are likely to embrace ridesharing for patient needs going forward.
The Texas state legislature is currently considering a bill, HB1576, that would expand the ability for ridesharing companies to transport Medicaid patients to and from appointments.
Ridesharing competitor Lyft has already established partnerships with health systems across the country as it seeks to make inroads as a reliable, affordable option for patient transportation.

In S-1 filings, companies must provide a comprehensive overview of business operations, including any potential risk factors to the enterprise as it prepares to be publicly traded.
Uber admits in its filing that it will be subject to “additional healthcare-related federal and state laws and regulations” as a result of going public and aiming to expand into the healthcare sphere.
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Activist investor targets HCA: 5 things to know

An activist investor is urging HCA Healthcare’s corporate governance committee chairwoman to help pass a proposal that would get rid of the company’s supermajority voting requirements, according to the Nashville Business Journal.
Five things to know:
1. The supermajority voting rule requires affirmative votes by the owners of 75 percent of HCA’s shares to make changes related to certain matters, such as the size of the board, according to Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA’s proxy statement.
2. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, activist investor John Chevedden says the proposal brought by shareholders to eliminate the supermajority voting rule is the most important proposal on the ballot at the company’s upcoming annual meeting because it is the only item that may not obtain the necessary votes.
“Due to the antiquated corporate governance of HCA Holdings, Proposal 4 needs 75 percent of the vote from every last forgotten share of HCA stock in the attic,” Mr. Chevedden said in the SEC filing. “A share that is not voted is the same as a share that votes against.”
3. A similar shareholder proposal failed in 2017. It received 72 percent of the vote, when a 75 percent approval vote was needed.
4. While some activist investors are solely focused on maximizing shareholder value, that is not the case with Mr. Chevedden, according to the Nashville Business Journal. He pushes for better corporate governance.
5. In its proxy statement, HCA’s board explained the potential benefits of supermajority voting rules, but ultimately asked shareholders to ax the requirements.
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Alliqua declares special dividend of $1.05 per share, sets spin-off record date

Alliqua has declared a special cash dividend of $1.05 for each share of common stock outstanding as of the close of business on April 22. Alliqua also set the record date as the record date for determining stockholders entitled to receive shares of AquaMed Technologies, which is currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alliqua, into a new, publicly traded company, in connection with Alliqua’s spin-off of AquaMed The payment of the special dividend is subject to the consummation of Alliqua’s merger transaction with Adynxx, a privately held biopharmaceutical company. In addition, the distribution is subject to the satisfaction of all conditions to closing of the merger transaction between AquaMed and TO Pharmaceuticals and the substantially simultaneous consummation of the TOP Merger. It is currently expected that the payment date for the special dividend and the distribution date for the distribution will be as soon as practicable after satisfaction of the special dividend condition and the distribution condition, as applicable, and in each case, no later than June 21.
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Myovant Sciences initiated at Evercore ISI

Myovant Sciences initiated with an Outperform at Evercore ISI. Evercore ISI analyst Ravi Mehrotra initiated Myovant Sciences (MYOV) with an Outperform rating and a price targets of $30. The analyst says the company’s lead program relugolix has been clinically de-risked with near-term pivotal data readouts. Mehrotra is modeling revenues of $944M for the program by 2023 thanks to its “commercial advantage of a one-a-day pill” and the “second-mover leverage of competitor AbbVie’s (ABBV) efforts to raise awareness and diagnosis” in woman’s health market.
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Axovant initiated at Evercore ISI

Axovant initiated with an Outperform at Evercore ISI. Evercore ISI analyst Ravi Mehrotra initiated Axovant with an Outperform rating and a price targets of $3. The analyst believes that the company’s “pipeline of high-potential assets is not priced in to the stock”, with the Street view on the company as a “GT asset collector with no platform premium”. Mehrotra contends that Axovant’s lead asset AXO-Lenti-PD offers “promising preclinical data” with about 5-times more potency than predecessor ProSavin.
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Crispr Therapeutics initiated at Evercore ISI

Crispr Therapeutics initiated with an Outperform at Evercore ISI. Evercore ISI analyst Ravi Mehrotra initiated Crispr Therapeutics with an Outperform rating and a price targets of $46. The analyst says the company’s ex vivo gene therapy gives it a low risk path to market while it continues to refine its delivery systems required for in vivo editing. Mehrotra also cites Crispr’s potential to have several programs in clinic in 2019-2020, along with strong partnerships and clinical execution that “could lead to significant near term clinical news flow.”
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Bausch’s Salix Agrees to License NASH Treatment Compound from U. Cal.

Salix Pharmaceuticals (“Salix”), one of the largest specialty pharmaceutical companies in the world committed to the prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Bausch Health Companies Inc. (NYSE/TSX: BHC) (“Bausch Health”), announced its affiliate has entered into a license agreement with the University of California (“UCLA”) via UCLA’s Technology Development Groupfor certain intellectual property relating to an investigational compound targeting the pituitary adenylate cyclase receptor 1 (PAC1) in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and various other gastrointestinal and liver diseases.
“With our in-depth knowledge and experience in the treatment of gastrointestinal and liver diseases, we believe we can make a difference in bringing forward potential treatments for NAFLD and NASH, two areas of significant unmet medical need today,” said Mark McKenna, president, Salix Pharmaceuticals. “This novel compound is representative of the caliber of products in our portfolio, as we remain committed to researching gastrointestinal and liver disease treatments needed today and in the future.”
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