Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of biopharmaceutical company Halozyme Therapeutics (HALO 0.39%) surged 28% today after entering a collaboration agreement with drug giant Pfizer (PFE -0.19%) to develop injectable medicines.
So what: Halozyme shares were battered in 2012 on concerns over the immune-deficiency treatment it developed with Baxter International (BAX -0.22%), but today's announcement suggests that pharmaceutical giants still have faith in Halozyme's Enhanze drug-delivery platform. In fact, Halozyme will receive an initial payment of $8 million and stands to gain a whopping $507 million if Pfizer reaches certain milestones, rekindling optimism over its growth prospects going forward.
Now what: I'd expect today's news to keep lifting the shares in the short term. "We look forward to working with Pfizer to apply Enhanze to these exciting targets," said Halozyme President and CEO Gregory Frost, Ph.D. "Enhanze enables biologics to be delivered as a simple subcutaneous injection." Of course, when you consider that Halozyme remains unprofitable and that the stock largely sways on fickle FDA decisions, conservative long-term investors should look elsewhere.
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