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Departure Of CEO From Savient Is Disturbing, But I Retain My Rating On The Stock
Posted February 2, 2012
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By Smith On Stocks
The decision of John Johnson to go to Dendreon (DNDN) as CEO and Chairman after only one year at the helm as CEO of Savient (SVNT) can only be looked at as a negative. The question is whether this is enough of a negative for me to change my Buy opinion that started when I initiated coverage on the stock last November when the stock was at $2.35, about the same as the current price. Some are concerned that Mr. Johnson has left at the most critical period of the Krystexxa launch and that this will impede the launch.
The company and its board were obviously concerned with the departure. They appear to have taken steps to lock in Louis Ferrari, who was orchestrating the Krystexxa launch along with Mr. Johnson. He was promoted to Executive Vice President, President North American Commercial Operations and I would imagine was awarded some other incentives to try to make sure that he stays on board. The board member David Norton, who was a 35 year executive at Johnson & Johnson, was named as interim CEO while a search is conducted to replace Mr. Johnson. READ FULL ARTICLE HERE
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