Takeover talk keeps Shire's stock high despite trial setback

20 December 2017

From a drug development perspective, rare disease specialist Shire (LSE: SHP) should have been struggling in the stock market on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the publication of disappointing results from an important Phase II/III study.

But rumors of a takeover arrested a decline that had reached 2.4% by Tuesday lunchtime on the back of the Hunter syndrome trial failure, and in the end Shire closed for the day nearly 4% up. By Wednesday afternoon, it was a further 1.2% higher, at £39.67.

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