Today’s Research Reports on Stocks to Watch: Merck and Akorn

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 24, 2018 / Akorn shares were destroyed in Monday trading as traders reacted to the news that Fresenius has ditched its plans to buy the company. Shares of Merck however were gaining big time after positive remarks from a Goldman Sachs analyst who upgraded the stock and raised her price target as well.

RDI Initiates Coverage on:

Akorn, Inc.
https://rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=AKRX

Merck & Co., Inc.
https://rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=MRK

Akorn, Inc. shares were deep in the red on Monday, closing the day down 33.76% on about 15 million shares. The stock sank to a new low of $12.40 during intra-day trading yesterday after Wall Street learned that Fresenius is backing out of its plan to buy Akorn following allegations of breaches of FDA data integrity rules. According to Fresenius, its outside experts had found “material breaches” of U.S. FDA standards while reviewing Akorn’s operations. It was last April when the deal was announced and Akorn had agreed to pay a $129 million termination fee if the agreement fell through. Akorn stated, “We categorically disagree with Fresenius’ accusations. We intend to vigorously enforce our rights, and Fresenius’ obligations, under our binding merger agreement.”

Access RDI’s Akorn, Inc. Research Report at:
https://rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=AKRX

Merck & Co., Inc. shares closed up 2.41% on roughly 19.8 million shares traded yesterday. The pharmaceutical giant saw its shares run to a near three-month high on Monday after Goldman Sachs raised their rating on the stock. Analyst Jami Rubin of the firm raised her price target from $63 to $73 and upgraded shares to a “buy” rating. She also added the shares to America’s Conviction List. She remarked, “We believe the narrative for this company is quickly changing with the success of Keytruda.” Keytruda is an immunotherapy that works with your immune system to help fight cancer. According to Rubin, the blockbuster drug has the potential to be a $16 billion asset by the year 2025. She also wrote, “Going forward, Merck could benefit from pipeline diversification and management’s steps to address longer-term growth pos- Januvia to complement Keytruda.” Recently Procter & Gamble also announced that it has agreed to buy Merck’s KGaA’s consumer health unit for $3.4 billion euros.

Access RDI’s Merck & Co., Inc. Research Report at:
https://rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=MRK

Our Actionable Research on Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) and Akorn, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKRX) can be downloaded free of charge at Research Driven Investing.

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