Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Antares Pharma (ATRS) Moves 49.2% Higher: Will This Strength Last?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Antares Pharma shares ended the last trading session 49.2% higher at $5.58. The jump came on an impressive volume with a higher-than-average number of shares changing hands in the session. This compares to the stock's 1.8% loss over the past four weeks.

Antares Pharma recorded a strong price increase following its announcement of its entry into a definitive acquisition agreement with Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. Pursuant to the agreement, Halozyme will acquire Antares, where it values the latter at approximately $960 million. The combination of Halozyme and Antares is expected to create a leading drug delivery and specialty product company, raising optimism.

This drugmaker is expected to post break-even quarterly earnings per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -100%. Revenues are expected to be $43.89 million, up 4.3% from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.

For Antares Pharma, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on ATRS going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

Antares Pharma belongs to the Zacks Medical - Dental Supplies industry. Another stock from the same industry, Becton Dickinson (BDX - Free Report) , closed the last trading session 0.7% higher at $270.94. Over the past month, BDX has returned 4.1%.

For Becton Dickinson, the consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has changed -2% over the past month to $2.99. This represents a change of -6.3% from what the company reported a year ago. Becton Dickinson currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) - free report >>

Published in