Horizon Therapeutics takeover value could be $135/share, says Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo analyst Derek Archila reiterates an Overweight rating after Horizon Therapeutics (HZNP) announced it has fielded takeover interest from multiple Big Pharma companies – Sanofi (SNY), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), and Amgen (AMGN) were cited — and is engaged in "highly" preliminary discussions. Since Horizon is Irish domiciled, Irish takeover rules require the "possible offerers" to state their intention of either making an offer or not, no later than Jan 10, 2023, the analyst adds. This doesn’t mean a deal will get done, but he is "not incredibly surprised" about the interest, given the meaningful discount Archila thinks shares currently trade. The analyst believes fair value in a takeover could be about $135/share based on his quick math. Further, he thinks Horizon’s deep immunology franchise and pipeline would fit with all the aforementioned companies.