Here’s Why Shares of Ciena, ArcelorMittal, Valeant and Two Others Are Gaining Ground Today

Achaogen Gets $20 Million from BARDA

Achaogen Inc (NASDAQ:AKAO)’s stock has skyrocketed by more than 40% after getting awarded a $20 million contract option by Biomedical Advanced Research and Development for the development of Plazomicin, a Multi-Drug resistant to gram-negative infections. The California-based biopharmaceutical company also said that it has achieved more than 50% patient enrollment in its ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial of Plazomicin. Just nine hedge funds from our system reported stakes in Achaogen Inc (NASDAQ:AKAO) worth approximately $3.2 million in aggregate as of the end of March.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals to Announce Earnings on June 7

Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) is trading 2.55% in the green after the company announced on Tuesday that its five PROVENGE scientific abstracts and one abstract of the results of Phase II study of DN24-02 have been accepted for the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). The meeting will take place from June 3-7 in Chicago. Valeant Pharmaceuticals also said that it will announce its first-quarter results on June 7 and the consensus among analysts includes EPS of $1.38 on revenue of $2.38 billion. The Canadian drugmaker has been under fire for delaying its quarterly reports. An in-house review of accounting practices lingered the announcement of quarterly report. As of the end of March, 71 hedge funds rom our database were bullish on Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX). The total value of their investments stood at around $3.1 billion.

Relypsa Will Benefit from ZS-9 Refusal, Analysts Think

Relypsa Inc (NASDAQ:RLYP) is rebounding today after Mizuho Financial Group’s analyst Irina Rivkind raised the price target for the Redwood-based pharmaceutical company to $20 from $12, citing possibilities of a buyout. According to Rivkind, the recent refusal by the FDA to approve ZS-9, AstraZeneca‘s (AZN) drug for hyperkalemia will help the “slow launch” of the company’s competing drug Veltassa.  This makes the company attractive for an acquisition. The analyst also thinks that ZS-9 will eventually be launched. BTIG Research firm also gave “Buy” rating to Relypsa based on the similar reasons. Samuel Isaly‘s OrbiMed Advisors owned more than 7.4 million shares of Relypsa Inc (NASDAQ:RLYP) at the end of March this year. It is one of the 14 funds in our database with stakes in the company.

Disclosure: None