Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc. (NYSE : PLX)
Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc. (PLX), a biopharmaceutical company announced on Tuesday an agreement with Pfizer to sell its share of ELELYSO and a 6% equity stake in Protalix for a total of $46 million.
Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc. CEO Comments
“We are very pleased to have the support of Pfizer as a shareholder of the Company. The funds we are receiving from the overall transaction, totaling $46 Million, will yield a strong pro forma cash balance for the Company of approximately $80 Million as of September 30, 2015 enabling us to aggressively push our clinical pipeline forward and concentrate on our new strategy of developing clinically superior biologics,” said Moshe Manor, Protalix’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Additionally, we are very happy to restructure and extend our existing relationship with Pfizer as they have shown their commitment to Gaucher patients and treating physicians.” Globe Newswire
PLX Technical Analysis
PLX gapped up in price yesterday to $1.20, up from the prior day’s close of $1.08 which is an 11% increase in price based on favorable news. Taking a look at the daily chart, we can see the last time the stock traded above this level was on September 29th when the stock closed at $1.30. Taking a further look back on the chart, we can see the stock has been trending downwards since May 19th when the stock was trading at $2.24. More recently, on the latest swing down, the stock went from $1.41 on September 25th all the way down to the 52 week low of $1.01 on October 2nd, equivalent to a 28% drop in price. That $1.41 level will be the first significant resistance level for any move up. The stock traded on over 2 times the normal daily trading volume. The stock did reach pre market highs of $1.47 meaning that it gave back $0.27 at the open equivalent to 18%. For trading purposes, my entry point would have been $1.25 looking for a move to $1.40. My stop loss would have been the gap up price of $1.20 fearing anything below that and the stock would start to fill in the gap up.
Company Profile
Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, together with its subsidiary, Protalix Ltd., focuses on the development and commercialization of recombinant therapeutic proteins based on its proprietary ProCellEx protein expression system in Israel and internationally. It offers taliglucerase alfa for injection, which is marketed under the ELELYSO brand name, as an enzyme replacement therapy for the long-term treatment of adult patients with a confirmed diagnosis of type 1 Gaucher disease. The companys product pipeline includes PRX-102, a therapeutic protein candidate for the treatment of Fabry disease; PRX-106, an oral antiTNF product candidate which is being developed as an orally-delivered anti-inflammatory treatment using plant cells as a natural capsule for the expressed protein; and PRX-112, an orally administered glucocerebrosidase enzyme (GCD) for the treatment of Gaucher patients utilizing oral delivery of the recombinant GCD produced and encapsulated within carrot cells. Its product pipeline also comprises PRX-110, a proprietary plant cell recombinant human Deoxyribonuclease 1 under development for the treatment of Cystic Fibrosis, to be administered by inhalation. Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is based in Carmiel, Israel. Yahoo Finance