After Flexion's (FLXN) stock rallied 33% following a report that the company could be nearing a deal to sell itself to Sanofi (SNY), RBC Capital analyst Randall Stanicky says that the deal would be logical. The analyst notes that Sanofi and Flexion both sell an osteoarthritis treatment, while several of Flexion's executives have come from Sanofi. A deal would allow Flexion to avoid having to hire a large sales team, added Stanicky, who says the stock has support at current levels even if a deal isn't reached. He keeps a $44 price target and an Outperform rating on the shares.

Reports business EPS of EUR 1.78, down 17.6% reported and 7.4% at CER. Reports Q1 IRFS net sales EUR 10.464B, up 2.4%. Paul Hudson, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "We are off to an excellent start in 2024, delivering on our strategic priorities and a transformation of our portfolio of medicines and vaccines to become a development-driven, tech-powered biopharma company committed to serving patients and accelerating growth. Continued strong performance by Dupixent and our new launches drove sales growth of seven percent. In parallel, we are delivering on our promise of increased investments in our late-stage pipeline to fully realize its value for patients and Sanofi. We are awaiting regulatory decisions for Dupixent in COPD, a progressive disease with limited effective treatment options. If approved, Dupixent will be the first biologic treatment in COPD. With the robust progress in our portfolio transformation, we reaffirm our financial guidance for 2024."