Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. VNDA announced that its board of directors has unanimously rejected a second acquisition bid by United Kingdom-based Cycle Group Holdings Ltd. ("Cycle Group") wherein the latter proposed to acquire VNDA for $8.00 per share in cash.

Shares of Vanda were up 8.3% on Oct 14 following the announcement of the news.

Vanda received the second takeover proposal from Cycle Group on Sep 23, 2024.

Per management, the second unsolicited, non-binding acquisition proposal was economically identical to Cycle Group's previous takeover interest that was received by the company in May.

After thoroughly reviewing the second takeover bid, Vanda’s board of directors concluded that the latest proposal substantially undervalues the company and is not in the best interests of the company and its shareholders.

Vanda shareholders will not have to take any immediate action related to the second unsolicited takeover proposal from the Cycle Group.

Year to date, shares of Vanda have rallied 14% against the industry's decline of 2.1%.

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Previous Takeover Rejection by VNDA

In April 2024, Vanda’s board of directors unanimously rejected a potential acquisition bid by Future Pak, LLC, wherein the latter proposed to acquire all outstanding shares of VNDA.

Back then, the company’s board of directors had carefully reviewed the proposed takeover interest and concluded that it significantly undervalued the company and was not in its best interests and that of the shareholders.

Per management, the proposed takeover interest is likely to create significant value for Future Pak at the expense of Vanda’s shareholders and would not likely create reasonable value for the company and its stockholders.

Vanda has a robust portfolio of drugs and a promising pipeline candidate.

VNDA's Portfolio of Drugs and Other Candidate

Vanda records revenues from the sale of its three commercial products — Hetlioz, Fanapt and the newly acquired Ponvory (ponesimod).

Fanapt (iloperidone) is approved in the United States for the acute treatment of patients with schizophrenia. The drug is also approved for the acute treatment of manic or mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder in adults.

Hetlioz (tasimelteon) is approved for the treatment of non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder and nighttime sleep disturbances in Smith-Magenis syndrome.

VNDA acquired the United States and Canada rights to Ponvory from Actelion Pharmaceuticals Limited, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson JNJ, in December 2023.

JNJ gained approval for Ponvory as an oral treatment for adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis in 2021.

Last month, the FDA issued a complete response letter (CRL) to VNDA’s new drug application (NDA) seeking approval for its pipeline candidate, tradipitant, for the treatment of symptoms in gastroparesis.

Vanda is also evaluating tradipitant in a late-stage study for the treatment of motion sickness. The company plans to submit an NDA for tradipitant to the FDA for treating motion sickness later in the fourth quarter of 2024.

VNDA's Zack Rank & Stocks to Consider

Vanda currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the biotech sector are ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ANIP and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ALNY, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

In the past 60 days, estimates for ANI Pharmaceuticals’ 2024 earnings per share have moved up from $4.69 to $4.81. Earnings per share estimates for 2025 have improved from $5.37 to $5.86. Year to date, shares of ANIP have increased 6%.

ANIP’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 31.32%.

In the past 60 days, estimates for Alnylam’s 2024 loss per share have narrowed from $1.20 to 63 cents. Loss per share estimates for 2025 have narrowed from 34 cents to 26 cents. Year to date, shares of ALNY have rallied 48%.

ALNY’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 108.53%.

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