Health Stocks in Motion

Shares of Closure Medical run on a J&J acquisition pact.
By Mark Martinez ,

Updated from 2:34 p.m.

Shares of

Closure Medical

( CLSR) were among the best-performing health-related stocks Friday, rising 19.1% after the company agreed to be acquired by

Johnson & Johnson

(JNJ) - Get Report

for $370 million in cash.

Shareholders of Closure will receive $27 a share for each share they own. The price tag represents a 21% premium to Thursday's closing price of $22.40. Closure will operate as a stand-alone entity and report to Ethicon, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary. The deal, which is not expected to impact Johnson & Johnson's financial guidance for 2005, is scheduled to close during the second quarter. Shares of Closure traded up $4.28 to $26.68, while shares of Johnson & Johnson traded up 99 cents to $67.74.

Oxigene

(OXGN)

fell 16.5% after the company announced the sale of 3.34 million shares at $4.50 apiece, resulting in gross proceeds of about $15 million. The price represents a discount of 16% based on Thursday's closing price of $5.33. The company plans to use the proceeds to accelerate product development in several areas of its business. Shares traded down 88 cents to $4.45.

Shares of

Neurochem

( NRMX) fell 1.9% after the company said it plans to sell 4 million shares of stock for $15.30 a share. Total gross proceeds will be about $61.2 million. The price represents just a slight discount to Neurochem's closing price of $15.34 on Thursday. The company plans to use the proceeds to fund clinical trials and for working capital and general corporate purposes. Shares traded down 29 cents to $15.05.

Weight Watchers

(WTW) - Get Report

fell 3.3% after the company posted in-line fourth-quarter earnings. Excluding results from its WeightWatchers.com unit, the company earned $33.5 million, or 32 cents a share on sales of $214.6 million. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call were expecting earnings of 32 cents a share. Including the WeightWatchers.com unit, the company earned 41 cents a share on sales of $232.8 million. Looking ahead, Weight Watchers forecast 2005 earnings of $1.85 to $1.95 a share, which excludes items. The forecast is in line with analysts' expectations of $1.86 a share. Shares traded down $1.48 to $42.85.

Shares of

Aspreva Pharmaceuticals

( ASPV) rose 34.5% on the company's first day of trading as a public company. The Canadian drug developer sold 7.2 million shares at $11 apiece, raising about $79 million. The pricing came in below its expected range of $13 to $15 a share. Merrill Lynch led the underwriting syndicate. Shares traded up $3.79 to $14.79.

Other health care movers included

Elan

(ELN)

, down 94 cents to $5.71;

Biogen Idec

(BIIB) - Get Report

, down $1.80 to $37.53;

Pfizer

(PFE) - Get Report

, up 26 cents to $26.85;

GlaxoSmithKline

(GSK) - Get Report

, down $1.59 to $48.91;

Boston Scientific

(BSX) - Get Report

, up 49 cents to $31.39;

Merck

(MRK) - Get Report

, up 10 cents to $31.68; and

Amgen

(AMGN) - Get Report

, up 7 cents to $62.04.

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