Dallas, Texas 12/30/2013 (FINANCIALSTRENDS) – Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN) is a $32.54 billion drug manufacturer based out of Irvin, California. It has the distinction of being tracked by the s&p 500 index. In the past one week, the stock has posted a solid 6.8 percent increase in its market value which is a continuation of the momentum it has built up during the past 30 days of trading.
The strong sustenance in the valuation of this drug maker has been accomplished on the back of some very encouraging news which came in the form of its patent reaffirmation. Thanks to this major development, Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN) which boasts of $1.2 billion in net income and annual sales of $6.09 million can help the firm protect its dominant position in the eye care and medication industry since it was able to gain new patents for its eye drop which are being marketed under name Restasis. If the trade magazines are to be believed, all three of its patent applications filed in August of this year have sailed through and will go a long way in reassuring its investors who were worrying about the existing patent getting expired in May 2014.
When this news got out (readers should note that this patent win has not yet been confirmed by the drug maker uncharacteristically) the stock market reacted positively and helped in the sustained rally in the stock. Even the analyst community seems to be fully behind the stock of this drug maker post this latest announcement as evident from the upgrade that Wells Fargo has initiated on the stock of Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN). The price target for the stock too has been upped to $122, while its trading price as of close of business on December 29 was $110.85. This led to further rally in the stock and more investor interest there by helping the drug maker increase its market cap by a significant 21 percent in the past one quarter.