Teva shares rose 6% at the end of trading in New York after Berkshire Hathaway, the investment company controlled by Warren Buffett, revealed that it holds 18.9 million shares of Teva, which is 1.8% of the capital value of $394 million, according to the current price Of the stock.
The holding is part of the company’s report on its investment portfolio as at the end of December 2017, which was sent today to the Israel Securities Authority. Teva rose 4.4% to $ 19.6 billion.
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At the end of last week, Capital Research reported an 11.9% holding in Teva, while Allergan, which held 100% of Teva’s shares, 9.9% of Teva, continued to reduce its holdings in Teva to 3.9% at the end of last week. Allergen received the shares as part of the deal, in which it sold Teva to Activase Generic for $33 billion in cash and the allocation of 100 million Teva shares.
Yesterday it was announced that Teva will have to face tougher competition for its most profitable product – Copaxone to treat multiple sclerosis.
Momenta and Sandoz AG of the Novartis Group received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market a generic version of Copaxone 40 mg with subcutaneous injection three times a week. The two companies immediately launched the drug – so that from now there will be two generic versions of Copaxone: that of Maylan and that of Momenta-Sandoz.
The 40 mg version joins a generic version of 20 mg Copaxone, given by one subcutaneous injection per day – which it began to market in July 2015. The release of Momenta to Copaxone 40 mg was delayed a year after the FDA sent a warning letter to the Pfizer plant in 2017, which produces the drug for Momenta.
Teva received a 25% drop in Copaxone sales in the fourth quarter of 2017 to $ 623 million, following the launch of the Mylan generic version in October 2017. Teva lowered its sales forecast for 2018 to $18.8-18.3 billion and forecasted profit of $2.50-2.25 per share in 2018.
Based on the assessment that there will be additional generic competition for Copaxone as of April 2018. Teva’s working assumption was that Copaxone sales would decline in 2018 to $ 1.8 billion, compared to $ 3.8 billion in 2017.
Teva fell but 4 executives received $ 31 million
This week, Teva published the expanded financial report for 2017. According to the report, the cost of Teva’s new CEO, Car Schultz, reached $17 million in 2017.
Schultz’s salary, which took office at the beginning of November, includes a salary of $333,000, a capital grant of $14 million in restricted shares and an equity grant of $2 million.
The cost of Erez Vigodman, Teva’s former CEO who ended his term in February 2017, reached $2.8 million, including a salary of $1.4 million and social expenses of $1.4 million. Vigodman is entitled to a salary of 18 months after termination of his position in return for his compliance with the terms of non-competition in his contract.
The cost of the salary of Yitzhak Peterburg, acting CEO, totaled $ 6.8 million in 2017, including $ 1.5 million in salary, equity grants in shares of $ 3 million and capital grants in the amount of $ 1.5 million in options.
The cost of the former finance manager, Eyal Deshe, was $ 4.2 million. Teva’s full financial report reveals that the three have committed not to criticize and slander Teva for 10 years from the date of termination of their employment.
