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GW Pharma Stock Rockets As Cannabis Drug Fights Epilepsy

Shares of British drugmaker  GW Pharmaceuticals ( GWPH ) more than doubled Monday after the company’s marijuana-based drug succeeded in a late-stage trial against a rare form of epilepsy. GW Pharma said that its drug Epidiolex had reduced convulsive seizures in children with Dravet syndrome, a severe form of childhood epilepsy without a current approved treatment, by 39%, in contrast to to a 13% reduction in the placebo group. Epidiolex is a pharmaceutical form of cannabidiol, one of the active ingredients in the cannabis plant. GW is also testing Epidiolex in Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome and Tuberous Sclerosis Complex, other rare forms of epilepsy. GW Pharma stock was up 118% near 84 in morning trading, a three-month high, reviving a stock that had hit a two-year low last week amid flagging investor confidence. The news also boosted other cannabis-related stocks: Insys Therapeutics ( INSY ) was up 16% near 20, while recent IPO Zynerba Pharmaceuticals ( ZYNE ) soared 68% to a five-month high near 14. Insys is also testing a cannabidiol product in Dravet syndrome, and like GW has received an orphan-drug designation from the FDA, although only one company can win the seven years of market exclusivity under the Orphan Drug Act. Zynerba is developing a form of cannabidiol that can be applied through the skin. Leerink analyst Paul Matteis raised his price target on GW Pharma stock to 130 from 100, saying that Epidolex looks very approvable. “We believe this drug-placebo difference of 26 percentage points is highly clinically significant in the context of (1) the patient population, which had failed at least four or more anti-epileptic drugs and suffered from 13 convulsive seizures per month, and (2) epilepsy in general, where drugs with high teens effect sizes have been approved by FDA,” Matteis wrote in his research note. Matteis added that the group taking Epidiolex did show some side effects to the drug, but the 13% dropout rate due to side effects compared favorably to that of other epilepsy drugs.

3D Systems Q4 Earnings Suggest Better Times Ahead, Stock Jumps

3D Systems ( DDD ) reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings Monday morning, as did rival Stratasys earlier in the month, sending both stocks up and suggesting hard times in the 3D printer market might be coming to a close. 3D Systems reported revenue of $183.4 million, in line with company estimates but well above Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $166.4 million. Revenue, though, fell 2% from the year-earlier quarter and marked the second quarter in a row of revenue deceleration, though Q4 was better than Q3’s 9% decline. The company reported earnings per share minus items of 19 cents, far above the consensus of 3 cents, as polled by Thomson Reuters. The company didn’t provide guidance. The results follow the Q4 earnings report from rival  Stratasys ( SSYS ) this month, which also beat expectations , as did its guidance for 2016. Together, the results from the biggest 3D printer compaies suggest the field might finally be recovering from a rough couple of years. 3D printer maker ExOne ( XONE ) is scheduled to report earnings before the market open Wednesday. 3D Systems stock was up 27%, at an eight-month high above 14.50, in morning trading in the stock market today . Stratasys stock was up 7%, near 26. ExOne stock was up 6.5%, near 11.50. “While market conditions remain challenging and uncertain, timing of health care and industrial customer orders as well as contributions from acquisitions supported revenue during the quarter,” 3D Systems interim CEO Andrew Johnson said in the company’s earnings release.

AT&T, Comcast Election Watch: Trump To Favor National Champions?

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump could favor large-scale telecom M&A to build national champions, while Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton would likely nominate a new FCC chairman with views similar to current FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, who promotes competition. So says RBC Capital in an outlook report on the presidential election. Republican primaries in five states on Tuesday, including Florida and Ohio, are critical for Trump, who leads in delegates vs. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. On the Democratic side, Clinton has been unable to put away Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Under Wheeler, the Federal Communications Commission thwarted Comcast ’s ( CMCSA ) acquisition of Time Warner Cable ( TWC ), and snuffed out merger talks between Sprint ( S ) and T-Mobile US ( TMUS ). The FCC, though, did allow  AT&T ( T ) to buy DirecTV Group. Many of Wheeler’s regulatory policy changes, meanwhile, have targeted Internet service providers, such as Comcast, AT&T and Verizon Communications ( VZ ). Jonathan Atkin, an RBC Capital analyst, says that based on his research, Trump is a telecom wild card. “Trump, on this topic, is considerably less predictable and could be an advocate of large national champions to enhance competitiveness vs. foreign countries, and hence, in certain cases, more accepting of consolidation,” Atkin said in the research report. “Cruz’s, Rubio’s or Kasich’s stance on antitrust could likely be similar to those of Bush or Reagan,” Atkin added. “This does not mean that every merger would be supported, but it would be 10%-20% easier to get horizontal deals done under a Republican vs. Democratic administration, in the view of one regulatory contact,” Atkin wrote. In a new Democratic administration, Atkin speculates that Comcast could buy a wireless company but probably not more cable TV assets. Within the telecom industry, there’s a perception Wheeler has favored Silicon Valley and Internet companies such as Apple ( AAPL ), Alphabet ’s ( GOOGL ) Google and Facebook ( FB ) ( IBD ) vs. Internet service providers. Broadband service providers are currently challenging Wheeler’s “net neutrality” rules in federal court. Atkin’s view is that Sanders’ election would be the worst outcome for the telecom companies. “Clinton could end up bringing in as FCC chair someone who is similarly aligned as Mr. Wheeler,” Atkin said. “Sanders could select as FCC chair someone who is even possibly more consumer-oriented than the current chair, and may possibly attempt to rate regulate broadband.”