Aurinia Pharmaceuticals gains on report investors pushing for sale
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Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) rose 2.8% on a report that a European-based investor group is campaigning for the biotech to begin a strategic review.
Aurinia holders, led by Switzerland-based MKT Tactical Fund, have written to the AUPH chairman, asking the board to hire a bank for a sale process, according to a Betaville "rare alert." The investors own just under a 5% stake in AUPH.
Aurinia (AUPH) has been the subject of rampant takeover speculation for months after Bloomberg reported in late October that
Bristol-Myers (NYSE:BMY) indicated interest in acquiring AUPH. Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) has more recently been seen as a potential acquirer of AUPH after a Stat News report said that Biogen is working with Goldman Sachs to find potential targets for the company.
In early December Betaville reported that the AUPH was said to be close to deciding on a preferred bidder in its strategic review. There has also been speculation that GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) may have interest, though GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) denied the report.
Aurinia (AUPH) fell to seven-month low last week after several Wall Street analysts trimmed their price targets on the stock citing the companyâs lackluster Q4 2021 results.