Alexion Shares Under Pressure Amid Brazilian Office Raid; Barclays Says Buy The Dip

Shares of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ALXN, a biopharmaceutical company perhaps most known for its Soliris therapy fell more than 3 percent during Monday's trading session.

Investors and traders were reacting to a Bloomberg report, which said Alexion's offices in Brazil were raided by authorities as part of an investigation into sales practices. Specifically, authorities are investigating claims the company teams up with a local patient association and subsidized lawsuits for patients to get better access to Soliris through the country's national health system.

Kim Diamond, an Alexion spokeswoman, told Bloomberg the company "provides support to the patient association in Brazil in the form of unrestricted educational grants and in accordance with local laws and regulations and industry code." In addition, the spokesperson confirmed that Alexion has not been charged with any criminal or civil misconduct.

Investors Shrug Barclays' Call

Shortly after reports of Alexion's raid on Monday, analysts at Barclays offered a quick take on how investors should react.

Barclays' Geoff Meacham suggested that while the headline report looks "onerous," the report shouldn't be viewed as a major fundamental concern. The analyst cited "good Soliris growth" in the U.S. and other countries.

With that said, the analyst opined investors might want to pick up shares of Alexion on any weakness. However, Alexion's stock didn't fully recover on Monday and slightly rebounded from an intra-day low of $122.02 to close the day at $124.48.

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Posted In: Analyst ColorBiotechNewsGlobalAnalyst RatingsGeneralAlexionbrazilGeoff MeachamKim DiamondSoliris
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