Biogen shares rise 4% before release of Alzheimer’s disease trial results
Biogen Inc. shares rose more than 4% in extremely heavy Wednesday morning trade in advance of a major Alzheimer’s disease drug presentation planned for the afternoon. The Wednesday event, detailing phase 2 trial results for the Alzheimer’s disease therapy BAN2401, could position Biogen as a leader in the difficult-to-treat disease, with two promising Alzheimer’s disease therapies. The release has also become the subject of Wall Street buzz because many of Biogen’s other important clinical trials, including for its other Alzheimer’s disease therapy, aducanumab, won’t put out new results for another year or so. Biogen and partner Eisai [s:jp:4523] have already said that the phase 2 trial had positive results. But depending on whether the full data are better or worse than expected, the stock could either move up $40 or down $20, Leerink analyst Geoffrey Porges said. Biogen shares also rose 4.1% in Tuesday trade after the company reported second-quarter profit and revenue beats and upbeat 2018 guidance. Biogen shares have surged 41% over the last three months, compared with a 6.9% rise in the S&P 500 and a 4.4% rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average .