Alexion stock plummets 9% after top management shake-up

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares dropped 9.2% to $104.89 in very active morning trade Tuesday after the company announced departures of its chief commercial officer, chief financial officer and two executive vice presidents. The company just appointed a new chief executive officer, Ludwig Hantson, in late March, and CFO Dave Anderson started at the company in December. "These changes appear to be the plan of the recently appointed new CEO, Ludwig Hantson, and we believe signal his intention to make a complete break with the company's past leadership," said Leerink analyst Geoffrey Porges, adding that after the shake-up, "none of the management team that built the Soliris business, or presided over the value-destroying Synageva deal in 2015, remain in place...These changes are not a complete surprise, given the signals that have been coming from new CEO, but will alarm many investors given the concern that there may be other 'shoes to drop' in terms of disclosure of additional underlying issues with the core business and operations." Still, Porges reiterated an outperform rating for Alexion. Two executives, CCO Carsten Thiel and Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer Clare Carmichael, will be leaving the company "to pursue new opportunities" starting June 1, the company said. Thiel will be replaced by Brian Goff, who has worked in biopharma for more than 25 years at companies including Johnson & Johnson and Baxter . CFO Anderson will resign at the end of August and Executive Vice President, Head of Research & Development Martin Mackay will be retiring at the end of this year, the company said, with searches underway for the open positions and a new head of human resources. Alexion shares have dropped 19.8% over the last three months, compared with a 1.5% rise in the S&P 500 .

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