The mobile wallets landscape shifted Tuesday, as eBay announced plans to spin off PayPal. Analysts mostly applauded the move, and eBay (EBAY) stock rose 7.5% to a six-month closing high of 56.63. EBay said it expects to complete the spinoff of PayPal into a separate publicly traded company in the second half of 2015. It was a victory for activist investor Carl Icahn, among those who had pushed for the change. “The split is good,”
The drama continued for big biotech Gilead Sciences Tuesday, as Johnson & Johnson moved into its viral-disease turf on two fronts with an acquisition. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) disclosed that it’s buying privately held Alios BioPharma for $1.75 billion in cash. In a press release, J&J touted Alios’ drug candidate for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a major cause of lung infection that has no current treatment. The drug, AL-8176, is
Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) shares popped on upbeat guidance and as the addition of Actavis (ACT) to the Allergan-Valeant-Salix triangle lifted Valeant’s chances for an Allergan takeover. Valeant said it expects to beat third-quarter analyst views on revenue and its own cash EPS guidance when it reports on Oct. 20. It also sees same-store organic growth exceeding 15% in Q3, with its Bausch + Lomb segment delivering more than 10% organic growth.