MorphoSys, a leading drug researcher, has raised fresh capital from investors. The SDAX company plans to use the money to expand its product pipeline and accelerate the market launch of its biggest hopeful, Pelabresib. The offer price for the approximately 3.4 million shares placed with institutional investors was set at 30 euros per share. This corresponds to a gross proceeds of a total of 102.7 million euros. The price was set at a discount of 2.8 percent to the volume-weighted average price on XETRA over the past five days.

The shareholders did not have any subscription rights at the issuance. The activation of these new shares is expected to take place from December 19, and they are fully entitled to dividends for the current year.

The fresh capital is now intended to be used primarily for the accelerated approval of the cancer drug Pelabresib. MorphoSys plans to submit the corresponding applications to the drug regulatory authorities in the US and Europe in mid-2024. The drug aims to treat myelofibrosis as first-line therapy, a rare blood cancer that originates in the bone marrow.

Presentation of Promising Results at an Expert Congress in the USA: Pelabresib's Approval Study Honored with an Impressive Stock Market Boom

Furthermore, the company plans to use the fresh capital for general corporate purposes and strengthening its finances. The spectacular successes of Pelabresib have caused many ups and downs in the stock market this year. Nevertheless, the share price of MorphoSys has risen by over 150 percent since the beginning of the year, although the current price of 33 euros is still well below the peak of 146 euros in early 2020. The costs of the acquisition of the US company Constellation Pharmaceuticals in 2021, amounting to 1.7 billion US dollars, had previously led to a significant drop in the MorphoSys share price.

The financing of this acquisition was done with the help of US financing partner Royalty Pharma and initially met with skepticism among investors. Now, the company is taking advantage of the positive share price development for a capital increase, thereby eliminating a massive burden factor. Analyst James Gordon from JPMorgan commented on the capital increase with the words: "MorphoSys secures enough cash with the capital increase for the Pelabresib approval decision in mid-2025."

This removes a massive burden factor. Since Tuesday, when it reached its highest level in two years at €33.75, the stock has already lost some of its value and is currently trading at €33.14 (-5.21%). After a fluctuation caused by temporary disappointment about the cancer drug Pelabresib, hope returned with a positive presentation at the annual conference of US hematologists.

Overall, the MorphoSys share has gained up to 170 percent this year, making it the lonely leader in the small-cap index SDAX.