Stifel analyst Derek Archila initiated coverage of Amarin with a Buy rating and $27 price target. The shares closed the trading day down 25c to $18.76 but are trading up $1.08 to $19.84 in the after-hours market. Vascepa's Reduce-IT study results are "impressive" and a physician survey shows they will "most certainly lead to robust growth," likely above management's 2019 guidance, Archila tells investors in a research note. The analyst adds, though, that his call "runs counter to the prevailing sentiment" that Amarin will be acquired in the near term. He believes the outcome of an FDA advisory committee discussing the Reduce-IT results and controversies around them will be needed before a takeout can occur. Nonetheless, his due diligence with regulatory experts get him comfortable with an FDA approval for a Vascepa label expansion to include reduction in cardiovascular risk based on the Reduce-IT results in early 2020. This should effectively increase the drug's addressable market size by a factor of 20, says Archila. The analyst used a "blended methodology given the takeout premium in the stock" to arrive at a $27 target price.

Amarin Corporation announced shareholder approval of all proposed resolutions specified at its 2024 Annual General Meeting. Importantly, shareholders approved each of the two proposals required for the Company to proceed with its previously announced intent to pursue a share repurchase program of up to $50 million. This permits the Company to request U.K. High Court approval, as required under U.K. company law, and if approved by the U.K. High Court, commence the share repurchase program by the end of the second quarter of 2024. As part of the Annual General Meeting, shareholders also approved the following resolutions: Re-elected Mr. Patrick Holt, Mr. Louis Sterling III and Ms. Patrice Bonfiglio as directors of the Company; Approved the compensation of the Company's "named executive officers" as described in full in the "Executive Compensation Discussion and Analysis" section of the Company's definitive proxy statement; Approved the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as auditors of the Company until the conclusion of the next general meeting; Approved the proposed amendment to the Company's 2020 Stock Incentive Plan; Authorized and approved the amended and restated articles of association to require all directors to retire and seek re-election at each annual general meeting of the Company.