Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Slumps 76% (CPRX, PPHM, QCOR, GTAT, AKS)
Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc.(NASDAQ:CPRX) shares climbed 4.69% to $2.01 after the company announced that researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York have commenced a safety and tolerability trial of vigabatrin in young adults with treatment refractory Tourette’s Disorder (TD) to evaluate whether CPP-109 (vigabatrin) can potentially reduce the severity of debilitating tics.
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals(NASDAQ:PPHM) shares plunged 75.88% to $1.30 after the company said the survival rates from its lung cancer study reported earlier this month were unreliable. The company The company discovered “major discrepancies” involving patient test results in a mid-stage study of the experimental drug bavituximab. Peregrine blamed a vendor and said it’s reviewing the problem.
Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(NASDAQ:QCOR) shares declined 27.98% to $21.70 in the morning hour after the company announced that it has become aware of a U.S. government investigation involving the Company’s promotional practices, a disclosure that comes just days after Aetna Inc. (AET) tightened its reimbursement criteria for Questcor’s primary drug. QCOR generates nearly all of its revenue from H.P. Acthar Gel, an injectable drug approved for various conditions including multiple sclerosis, a kidney disorder and infantile spasms.
GT Advanced Technologies Inc(NASDAQ:GTAT) stock fell 5.70% to $6.12 after announcing a plan to issue as much as $175 million in convertible notes. The notes will mature on Oct. 1, 2017, and underwriters have the option to purchase as much as an additional $26.3 million. The funds will be used for general corporate purposes including acquisitions and refinancing debt.
AK Steel Holding Corporation(NYSE:AKS) stock dropped 4.19% to $5.03 after Moody’s Investors Service placed its ratings on AK Steel on review for a possible downgrade, pointing weak operating performance and ongoing losses incurred. Moody’s currently rates AK Steel at B1, four levels into junk territory.
Additionally, AKS stock was downgraded by analysts at JPMorgan Chase from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating. They now have a $7.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $9.50.