Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) chairman Dr. Phillip Frost bought one million shares of the company on May 30, its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. He paid $37.82-39.57 per share, for around $39 million altogether.
Frost (75) has served as Teva's chairman for two years, and was reelected for another term in May. He is the largest private shareholder in the company, with a 1.4% stake, currently worth $530 million. The heirs of his predecessor, the late Eli Hurvitz, own 1.1%, although it might be less, as the company stopped disclosing Hurvitz's stake after he retired.
Frost said, "This investment is simply a reflection of the strength of my conviction regarding Teva's bright future."
Frost's investment in Teva is simultaneously surprising and not surprising. It is surprising because, to the best of our knowledge, no private shareholder in Teva has ever bought shares for tens of millions of dollars, or even a few million dollars. Most of the company's private shareholders, including those, like Eli Hurvitz, who could have bought shares for a large amount, did not do so.
Frost's investment is not surprising, if only because of the low point reached by Teva's share price. He routinely buys shares in other companies in which he controls or is at least a major shareholder. He bought $5 million worth of shares in Prolor Biotech Inc. (AMEX: PBTH; TASE: PBTH) as part of its secondary offering.
Despite Frost's vote of confidence in Teva, we are in no hurry to consider it as a "buy" recommendation, at least not in the short and medium term. Teva's share price has been under pressure for many reasons, and the purchase of one million shares by its chairman cannot sweep the reasons under the rug. At best, the purchase will tidy the reasons up a bit, but the direction that Teva's new president and CEO Dr. Jeremy Levin and shaky market dominance of Copaxone - Teva's flagship product for the treatment of multiple sclerosis which is the main source of the company's revenue - will be factors that will drive Teva's share price.
Teva's share price fell 2% by mid-afternoon on the TASE today to NIS 153.20, after falling 0.5% in New York on Friday to $39.01, giving a market cap of $34 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 3, 2012
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