Liminal Biosciences Completes Plasma Centers Sale; Stock Jumps 4.65%

Liminal BioSciences (LMNL) has closed the sale of its Prometic Plasma Resources Inc. and Prometic Plasma Resources (USA) Inc. plasma collection centers. Liminal BioSciences stock rose 4.65% to $4.50 on Friday but fell 3.33% in extended hours.

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Liminal received $17 million in cash for selling the facilities to Kedrion. It intends to use the money for strategic investments, such as funding the development of its small molecules pipeline.

“We are very pleased to close on the sale of our plasma collection centers to Kedrion. This transaction strengthens the company’s financial position,” commented Liminal BioSciences CEO Bruce Pritchard.

Liminal BioSciences is a Canadian biopharmaceutical company with operations in the U.S. and U.K. It has focused on developing breakthrough treatments to address unmet medical needs, primarily those related to fibrosis. Its lead candidate, Fezagepras (PBI-4050), is being developed to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The medication’s global Phase 2 trial is expected to begin in the first half of 2022.

In addition to the plasma collection centers’ divestiture, Liminal BioSciences has offered to sell its plasma-derived therapeutics business, including the Ryplazim business, to Kedrion. Kedrion has until June 15 to take up the offer. If successful, that transaction is expected to generate $5 million. Additionally, Liminal BioSciences will be eligible to receive up to 70% of certain sale proceeds tied to the Ryplazim license. (See Liminal BioSciences stock analysis on TipRanks)

Consensus among analysts on Wall Street is a Moderate Buy based on 2 Buy ratings. The average analyst price target of $16.50 implies 266.67% upside potential to current levels.

LMNL scores a 3 out of 10 on TipRanks’ Smart Score rating system, suggesting the stock is likely to underperform the market.