Eli Lilly Lifts Sales Guidance, Enters Gene Therapy Field With Prevail Acquisition


27% profit every 20 days?

This is what Nic Chahine averages with his option buys. Not selling covered calls or spreads… BUYING options. Most traders don’t even have a winning percentage of 27% buying options. He has an 83% win rate. Here’s how he does it.


Eli Lilly And Co (NYSE:LLY) announced Tuesday a big-ticket acquisition that would mark its foray into gene therapy research.

What Happened: Lilly said it has agreed to buy gene therapy company Prevail Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:PRVL) for $22.50 per share in cash payable at closing, and a non-tradable contingent value right, or CVR, worth up to $4 per share in cash.

ENTER TO WIN $500 IN STOCK OR CRYPTO

Enter your email and you'll also get Benzinga's ultimate morning update AND a free $30 gift card and more!

The total consideration taking into account the cash component and the CVR is about $26.50 per share in cash, or an aggregate value of about $1.040 billion. The per-share value represents a 112% premium over the $12.50 at which Prevail shares closed Monday.

The CVR is payable upon the first regulatory approval of a product from Prevail's pipeline, and the full value of the CVR will be paid only if the regulatory approval occurs by Dec. 31, 2024. If the approval comes through after the date, the value of the CVR will be reduced by about 8.3 cents per month until Dec. 1, 2028, after which the CVR will expire.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.

Prevail's board has unanimously recommended that shareholders tender their shares in the tender offer by Lilly.

The Week Ahead In Biotech: 2 IPOs Plus FDA Decisions On Moderna's COVID Vaccine And Drugs From Amgen, MacroGenics


FREE REPORT: How To Learn Options Trading Fast

In this special report, you will learn the four best strategies for trading options, how to stay safe as a complete beginner, ​a 411% trade case study, PLUS how to access two new potential winning options trades starting today.Claim Your Free Report Here.


Why It's Important: Prevail develops AAV9-based gene therapies for patients with neurodegenerative diseases.

The company's lead gene therapies in clinical development are PR001 for patients with Parkinson's disease with GBA1 mutations and neuronopathic Gaucher disease and PR006 for patients with frontotemporal dementia with GRN mutations.

"The acquisition of Prevail will bring critical technology and highly skilled teams to complement our existing expertise at Lilly, as we build a new gene therapy program anchored by well-researched assets. We look forward to completing the proposed acquisition and working with Prevail to advance their groundbreaking work through clinical development," said Mark Mintun, vice president of pain and neurodegeneration research at Lilly.

Lilly's clinical pipeline boasts of a neurodegeneration franchise, and the company is evaluating multiple candidates for Alzheimer's and dementia.

Lilly Guides FY21 Above Consensus: Separately, Lilly said, buoyed by volume-based revenue growth, operating margin expansion, pipeline advancements and solid cash flow, it looks ahead to delivering strong performance, both financially and operationally, in 2021.

The company expects 2021 revenues at $26.5 billion to $28 billion and earnings per share in the range of $7.75-$8.40 on an adjusted basis.

Analysts, on average, estimate revenues of $26.47 billion on EPS of $8.07.

The company raised its 2020 revenue guidance from $23.7 billion-$24.2 billion to $24.2 billion-$24.7 billion and non-GAAP EPS guidance from $7.20-$7.40 to $7.45-$7.65.

Lilly shares were rising 3% to $163 at publication time.


27% profit every 20 days?

This is what Nic Chahine averages with his option buys. Not selling covered calls or spreads… BUYING options. Most traders don’t even have a winning percentage of 27% buying options. He has an 83% win rate. Here’s how he does it.


Posted In: M&ANewsGuidanceHealth CareSmall CapTop StoriesGeneral