Pharmasset Seeing Weak Tape, Will $11B Deal Go Through?

On Thursday, shares of Pharmasset VRUS are trading weak considering the recent proposed buyout by Gilead Sciences GILD. Gilead Sciences announced, on November 21st, a blockbuster move with its planned $11 billion cash acquisition of Pharmassett, the biggest acquisition by far in the company's history. It is a huge move through which Gilead seeks to diversify and reinvigorate its portfolio with what is seen as a huge bet on Hepatitis C treatment. However there has been some Street chatter claiming that Gilead paid too much and that the deal may fold. In the last few days, shares of Pharmasset have been trading weak relative to the S&P 500. Benzinga recently spoke with a few analysts who cover Pharmasset, and the color and consensus received was for the deal to go through. The analysts said that this deal is very strategic for Gilead and that rumors of a failed deal are just short-sellers creating fear to profit on their shorts. The analysts continued on to highlight how shares of Gilead have rebounded since the deal was announced, which shows how big this deal is for Gilead. At the time of posting, shares of Pharmasset are trading down about 1% at $129.52 and shares of Gilead are flat on the session at $39.84. Pharmasset currently has three clinical-stage product candidates for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus advancing in trials in various populations. The company's lead product candidate, PSI-7977, an unpartnered uracil nucleotide analog, has recently been advanced into two Phase 3 studies in genotype 2 and 3 patients. “The acquisition of Pharmasset represents an important and exciting opportunity to accelerate Gilead's effort to change the treatment paradigm for HCV-infected patients by developing all-oral regimens for the treatment of the disease regardless of viral genotype,” said John C. Martin Chairman and CEO of Gilead. Sign up for a free subscription to the Weekly Radar - Benzinga's weekly newsletter highlighting technical levels and analysis for major markets for the week ahead.