--(www.USEquityNews.com)-- 11/16/2007 - Pharmaceutical industry alert provided by U.S. Equity News. The president and chief executive of biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) exercised options for 70,000 shares of common stock under a prearranged trading plan, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. In a Form 4 filed with the SEC recently, John C. Martin reported he exercised the options for $3.65 apiece and then sold all 70,000 shares the same day for $41.90 to $42.45 apiece. The stock sale was conducted under a prearranged 10b5-1 trading plan which allows a company insider to set up a program in advance for such transactions and proceed with them even if he or she comes into possession of material non-public information.
Aida Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCBB: AIDA) recently announced that it has filed its form 10Q for the period ended September 30, 2007. Net revenues totaled $7,373,770 for the quarter ended 9/20/07, an increase of 5% over the same period in 2006. Gross profit decreased by 2.66% due to an increase in Costs of Goods Sold. Most notably, sales from Aida's transfusion and injection forms of etimicin sulfate increased markedly.
Shares of biotechnology company Genzyme Corp. (NASDAQ: GENZ) rose recently after billionaire investor Carl Icahn snapped up more than 1 million shares, fueling investor speculation of a potential buyout. The Cambridge, Mass. company's stock rose $2.30, or 3.3 percent, to $73.08 during afternoon trading. Its stock has ranged between $58.71 and $76.90 over the past year.
A Lehman Brothers analyst upgraded shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) recently, saying the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is open to changing a policy that has eroded sales of Amgen's anemia drugs Epogen and Aranesp. Jim Birchenough raised his rating to "Overweight" from "Equal weight," and lifted his price target to $72 per share from $56. He said a Medicare policy announced in July could reduce the use of the drugs that treat anemia caused by cancer and kidney disease by up to 40 percent and cut reimbursement by 70 percent.
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