Market Outperform/High Risk - Price 26.97 on March 24
by Hapoalim Securities

Acorda's lead drug, Fampridine-SR, has been filed with the Food & Drug Administration for approval in treating walking impairment due to multiple sclerosis... [It could come] in early '10, making it the first oral pill treating the underlying cause of [MS]. We are initiating coverage with a 35 target... derived from a composite risk-adjusted net-present-value approach, which evaluates the firm's marketed anti-spasticity drug Zanaflex and...Fampridine-SR for MS to yield a total firm value of $1.3 billion. We accord a 5 times multiple on '09 projected sales of Zanaflex, to yield $300 million NPV for the Zanaflex franchise...product growth is slowing, and Acorda is unlikely to see significant additional revenue growth, given the highly genericized market. Yet the Zanaflex franchise has significant strategic importance...and could enable it to market Fampridine-SR independently in the U.S., if approved. Market cap: $1 billion.

Wife's Medicine Cabinet

Acorda, whose stock has been in the low 20s, could hit 28 in the next 12 months if clinical trials go well. And, ultimately, the company could be a takeover target.

Icahn

Upgraded by Banc of America Sec from Neutral to Buy

Not my favorite Flag pattern a little wavy, but may work.
Date: April 21 2007
Target: $29
Price at detection $23.7
No signal with volume yet

A Corda Therapeutics (ACOR) isn't your typical biotech. Even before its public debut in early 2006, the company had a commercial product. Zanaflex treats spasticity or muscular spasm, a condition associated with multiple sclerosis. Acorda's newer product is Fampridine-sr, which alleviates walking disabilities caused by MS. Shares of Acorda have been on a tear since Fampridine's first phase III trials yielded "strong data," says Phil Nadeau of securities firm Cowen (COWN ). The patients involved showed "consistent improvement in walking speed," he says. About half of all MS patients will need help in walking within 15 years of their diagnosis, says Nadeau, who rates the stock "outperform." He expects Fampridine to be on the market by 2009, with $120 million sales in 2011. The drug will undergo a second phase III trial this spring. Results of the first phase III will be released at the May 2 meeting of the American Academy of Neurology. That may fire up the stock again as more details about the trials become known. Caroline Stewart of Piper Jaffray (PJC ) rates Acorda, now at 18.69, a buy, with a 12-month target of 30. She estimates the market for Fampridine at $450 million a year and for Zanaflex at $35 million.

Young upstart

Like what they're trying to do

2-23-2007
Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACOR) responded to a letter from Dan Loeb's Third Point LLC urging the company to sell itself. The company said, "The board of directors of Acorda Therapeutics continually evaluates ways to maximize shareholder value and to serve the best interests of all shareholders."

2-22-2007
In a 13D filing on Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOR) 9.9% holder Daniel Loeb's Third Point LLC disclosed a letter sent to Board of Directors urging them to immediately retain an investment bank and pursue a process to sell the Company in its entirety, foregoing the recently announced plan to partner Fampridine SR only in Europe. Loeb changed the firm's filing status from its prior "passive" 13G. Loeb first disclosed his hefty stake in Acorda in an October 2006 filing that we noted here.

In the letter Loeb said, " we strongly believe that Fampridine-SR would have the greatest value in the hands of a seasoned worldwide multiple sclerosis drug developer and marketer. A larger, more experienced company would be able to expedite Fampridine SR through the FDA and into the hands of patients more quickly and efficiently."

The firm also said, "Based on our analysis, we believe that there would be several potential interested buyers and that the acquisition price would be significantly in excess of the current market valuation."

Clearly manipulated stock. One day it will plunge 80% after they announce their failed 3-phase trial results. Management sell all the time.