Monday, May 6, 2019
Centene spokesperson tells Bloomberg committed to deal for WellCare
A Centene (CNC) spokesperson told Bloomberg in an emailed comment that the company is committed to going through with its agreement to acquire WellCare (WCG). The comment was issued after Reuters’ Carl O’Donnell and Svea Herbst-Bayliss reported earlier this afternoon that hedge funds Corvex and Sachem Head Capital have built stakes in Centene and may oppose the company’s agreement to buy WellCare.
Humana would consider deal for Centene, blog report claims
Humana (HUM) would consider a deal to buy Centene (CNC), but only if Centene dropped its planned acquisition of WellCare (WCG) and it could proceed on a friendly basis, sources reportedly told StreetInsider. The Fly notes that Reuters’ Carl O’Donnell and Svea Herbst-Bayliss reported earlier this afternoon that hedge funds Corvex and Sachem Head Capital have built stakes in Centene and may oppose the company’s agreement to buy WellCare.
Reata Pharmaceuticals mentioned as long idea by Cormorant’s Chen
Bihua Chen, the founder of Cormorant Asset Management, mentioned Reata Pharmaceuticals as a long idea and potential “10 bagger” while presenting at the Sohn Conference, according to Bloomberg.
Hedge funds target Centene, may oppose WellCare deal
Hedge funds Corvex Management LP and Sachem Head Capital Management LP have built stakes in U.S. health insurer Centene Corp and are exploring challenging its planned $17.3 billion acquisition of WellCare Health Plans Inc, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.
The hedge funds believe that Centene may be able to do more to establish if another company such as Humana Inc would be interested in acquiring it, the sources said.
The hedge funds are seeking to take advantage of the fact that Centene needs to secure approval from its shareholders for the WellCare deal, according to the sources, who asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential. There is no certainty that the funds will agitate against the deal, the sources added.
“We remain as committed to our combination with WellCare today as we did when we announced it on March 27,” said Marcela Hawn, Centene’s chief communications officer.
Corvex and Sachem Head declined to comment. WellCare and Humana did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
It was unclear whether Humana would take an interest in acquisition of Centene.
When asked during a May 1 earnings conference call with analysts about his view on Medicaid growth in light of Centene’s acquisition of Wellcare, Humana’s chief executive, Bruce Broussard, said the company was “confident in our organic direction”, but that its strategy involved always looking at the market for M&A possibilities.
AstraZeneca: Calquence met primary endpoint in Phase 3 ASCEND trial
AstraZeneca announced results from the Phase 3 ASCEND trial of Calquence in previously-treated patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, or CLL. Results showed a statistically-significant and clinically-meaningful improvement in progression-free survival with Calquence monotherapy compared to a combination regimen of rituximab plus physician’s choice of idelalisib or bendamustine. “Importantly, the safety and tolerability of Calquence was consistent with the known profile,” the company stated. Calquence is currently approved for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma in the U.S., Brazil, the UAE, and Qatar, and is being developed for the treatment of CLL and other blood cancers. Jose Baselga, Executive Vice President, R&D Oncology said: “Calquence is the first BTK inhibitor to show benefit in a Phase III trial as a monotherapy compared to current standard-of-care combinations used in relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. We look forward to presenting detailed results at a forthcoming medical meeting.”
https://thefly.com/landingPageNews.php?id=2904001
https://thefly.com/landingPageNews.php?id=2904001
Glenview’s Robbins short 3M, long Cigna, Humana, UnitedHealth
Glenview Capital Management CEO Larry Robbins said Monday that he’s shorting shares of industrial conglomerate 3M and likes health-care stocks like Cigna, Humana and UnitedHealth Group.
Despite his long call on HMO equities, Robbins said he doesn’t like pharmaceutical stocks due to the political risk, with many Democratic presidential hopefuls — as well as President Donald Trump — opposed to lofty drug prices.
“In pharmaceuticals … the president can act unilaterally to reduce drug pricing,” Robbins warned from the 2019 Sohn Conference in New York. “The same drug in the United States costs three times as much as other” developed countries.
Robbins said Glenview has three long and 16 short positions in the pharmaceutical space and recommends investors short any ETF that tracks the space. Long a fan of health-care stocks, Robbins in 2018 picked Express Scripts–Cigna, CVS–Aetna and McKesson as his winners in the field.
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