Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AEGR), ISIS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ISIS), Sanofi SA (ADR) (SNY): This Is One Incredible CEO

Perhaps most impressive from a shareholders’ perspective, shares have gained a clean 750% since debuting on the Nasdaq Composite less than three years ago. Shares didn’t really take off, though, until last year when news of Juxtapid’s success in trials became apparent. Over the trailing year, Aegerion shares have increased by 523% — or in another context, by an average of 3.6% per week for the past year! That’s right, Beer’s leadership produced better gains in just over a week over the past year than you’d get had you held a 30-year U.S. Treasury bond for an entire year!

Furthermore, Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR)’s success hasn’t resulted in big sales by its largest shareholders — including Beer. If you review the insider activity over the past two years, you’ll find very few sales (and those sales you do see are from large institutional shareholders) and plenty of automatic purchases from directors, including Beer. In fact, Beer hasn’t sold a single share of Aegerion’s stock despite its mammoth rise, so you know his interests are tied to those of his investors.

Being at the moment unprofitable, I wouldn’t expect Aegerion to be a big donator; but looks can be deceiving. Being a rare-disease drug developer, Aegerion is a premier sponsor along with Sanofi SA (ADR) (NYSE:SNY) and Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) for the Familial Hypercholesterolemia Foundation.  Donating within the fields it operates in is usually a way to garner favorable PR from the community and physicians alike.

And, as you might have imagined, Aegerion’s employees are pretty well taken care of, too, with employees looking forward to health, dental, and 401(k) plans, company-paid insurance plans, and a casual work environment.

Two thumbs up
Sometimes the little things, like executing on developing and launching a drug and tying your interests to that of shareholders can make a CEO great. Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR)’s greater than 500% return over the trailing 12 months is a testament to Beer’s rock solid leadership, as his is commitment to the FH Foundation. I may not agree with the stocks’ valuation here, but I undeniably have to recognize that Beer is an incredible CEO worthy of two thumbs up.

The article This Is One Incredible CEO originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Sean Williams.

Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.

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