Yahoo Finance Bayer stock plunges after drug trial halted
Bayer (BAYRY) shares closed 17% lower on Monday after the company halted a trial for a blood-thinning drug due to "lack of efficacy." The news sent shares of Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) lower because it's developing a similar drug. Also impacting Bayer shares is the news that the company was ordered to pay $1.56 billion in a lawsuit involving its Roundup weedkiller.
Yahoo Finance Live breaks down the stock action.
Click here to watch the full interview on the Yahoo Finance YouTube page or you can watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live here.
Video transcript
- Let's look at a couple trending tickers today. One is Bayer. We have to talk about that. Because what you saw there, Julie, was actually not just a drop, but a historic drop. Different moving pieces here. For one, the company stopped the study for this important drug in the pipeline.
Specifically this was for an antithrombotic drug, and was described in reports I was reading as really a potential blockbuster. So you can understand the street clearly very disappointed there. Now questions, what does growth look like for this company not just the quarters but the years ahead.
- Yeah, exactly. And then the other big setback for Bayer that caused the, or Bayer, Bayer, depending on where you are, had to do with roundup. Because this is, as it's through its acquisition of Monsanto, a product it acquired in roundup for years has been facing litigation, may yet face more litigation in the years to come. And there was another courtroom setback or defeat for the company regarding roundup. So we'll continue to watch that.
The company has set aside $16 million for all the related lawsuits but we'll see if there's more. On the drug side, Bristol Myers Squibb is developing a similar drug to what Bayer is developing. And so it too fell, but then it had an additional setback as well. The company saying that one of its drugs was halted by the FDA. I believe. So that also, that it's developing with a partner called 270 that I hadn't heard of before but that is also falling on the day.
- All right, one to watch.
