OTSKF - Aurinia Pharmaceuticals gains on takeover speculation

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) rose 17% at least partly on some take takeover speculation following comments from Novartis (NYSE:NVS). Novartis reportedly said during its R&D day earlier that it plans to focus on smaller, "bolt-on" deals despite the $20B it will receive from the sale of its Roche stake, according to a tweet from a pharmaceuticals reporter. Aurinia's market cap is $2.4B. Aurinia has been considered a takeover target in recent months after Bloomberg reported in late October that Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) indicated interest in acquiring AUPH. There was also speculation that GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) may have interest, though GSK denied the report. Some of the Aurinia (AUPH) takeout speculation seemed to be debunked when Aurinia announced a amid mixed shelf offering, sending AUPH shares down 30% on Nov. 22, as some investors saw the offering as a sign no deal would be happening. Cantor analyst Alethia Young in late October said other companies besides BMY

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Aurinia Pharmaceuticals gains on takeover speculation