Bill Ackman Raises Stake in Allergan Inc. (AGN)

Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman may have repeatedly failed to persuade Allergan Inc. (AGN) to sell itself, but that hasn’t stopped him from increasing his stake in the botox maker.

According to a new 13F filing with the SEC, Pershing Square Capital Management LP, Allergan’s biggest shareholder, has disclosed an increased position in AGN to 28.9 million shares from 0.6 million shares. Ackman earlier this year bought 9.7% of Allergan.

In other Allergan news, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the SEC is looking into whether a hostile offer jointly pursued by Canadian pharmaceutical company Valeant Pharmaceuticals Inc (VRX) and Ackman to acquire Allergan Inc. violates securities laws. Last week, California-based Allergan sued Valeant Pharma and Pershing Square, accusing the duo for violating securities laws by buying nearly 10% of its stock before announcing the attempted $50-billion acquisition.

Allergan shares closed at $155.60 on Thursday and are currently flat in extended hours. AGN has a trailing-12 P/E of 38.19, a forward P/E of 18.91 and a P/E to growth ratio of 1.57. Price/sales for the t-12 period is at 6.83 while EPS is at $4.07. The company has a market cap of $46.24 billion and a median Wall Street price target of $200 with a high target of $240. Currently there are 7 analysts that rate Allergan Inc a ‘Strong Buy’, 6 rate it a ‘Buy’, and 7 rate it a ‘Hold’. No analysts rate it a ‘Sell’.

Profitability-wise, Allergan’s t-12 profit margin currently stands at 19.08% while operating ones are at 30.63%. The company reported $3.72 billion in cash vs. $2.15 billion in debt in its most recent quarter. AGN is up 40.08% year-to-date and about 71% year-over-year as of the close of trading on Thursday.

The chart below shows where the equity has traded over the last 52 weeks, with the 50-day and 200-day MAs included.

Allergan, Inc. operates as a multi-specialty health care company primarily in the U.S., Europe, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. The company was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.

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