Deals
Kite Pharma Defies Skeptics and Rewards Bulls With a Big Buyout
- Biotech stock had tripled ahead of Gilead Sciences offer
- Analysts were cautious amid run-up, warned about new drug hype
Gilead to Buy Kite of $11.9 Billion in Cancer Megadeal
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Bears who went into the weekend incredulous that shares of Kite Pharma Inc. had soared 200 percent in 2017 awoke Monday to learn the gain is now 300 percent.
One of the medical industry’s biggest battlefield stocks is resolving resoundingly in favor of the bulls with news that Kite agreed to be bought by Gilead Sciences Inc. for $11.9 billion, or $180 a share. The price represents a 29 percent premium over the last closing price for a stock whose precipitous climb had drawn caution from analysts long before Monday’s news.