Why Akorn, Inc. (AKRX) Shares Spiked Higher

Akorn, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRX) shares have surged 18% on Friday after Bloomberg reported that its sources say Fresenius SE ‘is weighing a bid’ to buy Akorn. German Fresenius SE is the largest publicly listed health-care provider in Europe and its CEO, Stephan Sturm, has been expanding the company through acquisitions. In 2016, Fresenius bought Spanish health provider Salud Holding SLU for around $6.11 billion and the potential purchase of Akorn would be another ambitious M&A move. If Fresenius did buy Akorn, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRX), some investors believe Akorn could mesh with Fresenius’ Kabi medicines segment, which currently accounts for around one fifth of sales. With that being said, the Bloomberg report also did say that ‘no final decisions have been made’ and there is always the potential that no bid materializes.

What Does The Smart Money Sentiment Say?

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Of the 742 elite funds we track, 29 funds owned $381.57 million of Akorn, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRX) and accounted for 14.00% of the float on December 31, versus 28 funds and $500.56 million respectively on September 30. In terms of individual movement, Philippe Laffont‘s Coatue Management intiated a new stake of 1.433 million shares in Q4, good for $31.286 million at the end of December. John Paulson‘s Paulson & Co trimmed its stake slightly, by 4%, in Q4 to 8.686 million shares.

The Bottom Line

Akorn, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRX) shares have spiked higher due to M&A hopes. For further reading, browse the article ‘11 Biggest Generic Drug Companies In the World‘.

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