Amicus Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: FOLD) is having the kind of week biotech traders both crave and fear: a sudden, definitive catalyst that snaps the stock to a new reality overnight. On Friday, December 19, shares jumped about 30% and hovered around $14.18, after BioMarin Pharmaceutical announced a $14.50-per-share all-cash acquisition valuing Amicus at roughly $4.8 billion. [1]
Because it’s a cash buyout, the story for Amicus stock is now less about “quarterly beats” and more about a single question: Will the deal close on time and on the stated terms? And that question—plus a few spicy subplots like patent litigation resolution and the usual merger mechanics—will likely define FOLD’s trading from now until the expected closing window in Q2 2026. [2]
What’s happening with Amicus Therapeutics stock price right now
As of this morning (Saturday, Dec. 20, with markets closed), FOLD is still reflecting Friday’s re-pricing: the stock last traded around $14.18, up $3.31 on the session (roughly +30%), with massive volume compared to normal trading days. [3]
The key number isn’t the day’s high—it’s $14.50, the cash price BioMarin agreed to pay. At roughly $14.18, Amicus is trading about $0.32 below the offer, a gap of about 2%–3%. That “deal spread” is the market’s way of pricing time value (waiting months to get paid) plus the non-zero risk that something delays or derails the transaction.
The headline news: BioMarin is buying Amicus for $14.50 per share
BioMarin and Amicus announced a definitive agreement on December 19, 2025. The terms are straightforward:
- Buyer: BioMarin Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ: BMRN)
- Target: Amicus Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FOLD)
- Consideration:$14.50 per share, all cash
- Equity value: approximately $4.8 billion
- Expected close:second quarter of 2026
- Approvals/conditions: regulatory clearances and Amicus shareholder approval, among other customary conditions [4]
BioMarin’s rationale is also classic “rare disease roll-up logic”: acquire marketed products with durable demand, plug them into an established global commercial footprint, and aim for faster expansion and improved margins.
BioMarin said it expects the acquisition to accelerate revenue growth immediately after close, become accretive to non-GAAP diluted EPS within 12 months, and be substantially accretive beginning in 2027. [5]
What BioMarin gets: Galafold, Pombiliti + Opfolda, and a Phase 3 pipeline option
Amicus brings two marketed rare-disease franchises and one notable late-stage pipeline asset:
- Galafold (migalastat) for Fabry disease (oral therapy)
- Pombiliti (cipaglucosidase alfa-atga) + Opfolda (miglustat) for Pompe disease (two-component therapy)
- U.S. rights to DMX-200, an investigational small molecule in Phase 3 for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) [6]
BioMarin and Amicus highlighted that the two marketed products generated $599 million in combined net product revenue over the last four quarters. [7]
Why these specific products matter to investors
Rare disease drugs can be weirdly “bond-like” (in a good way): small patient populations, high unmet need, specialized prescriber base, and reimbursement complexity that creates switching friction. For BioMarin, the pitch is that Galafold and Pombiliti/Opfolda are “plug-and-play” with its enzyme-therapy footprint—commercially and operationally. [8]
A major extra catalyst: Galafold patent litigation settlement and a long exclusivity runway
One detail that quietly matters a lot: BioMarin and Amicus disclosed that pending U.S. Galafold patent litigation has been resolved, and that U.S. exclusivity for Galafold is expected through January 2037 based on litigation settlements announced alongside the deal. [9]
That kind of exclusivity runway is catnip for acquirers, because it reduces one of biotech’s scariest risks: sudden pricing collapse via generic entry.
Barron’s also reported that Amicus settled intellectual property litigation tied to potential Galafold generics, pushing the expected generic entry out to 2037. [10]
Investor’s Business Daily noted Amicus agreed to license rights related to a generic Galafold timeline tied to 2037, pending FDA-related steps. [11]
Deal mechanics that matter: timeline, “outside date,” and the $175 million termination fee
If you want the “real forecast” for FOLD now, it lives inside the merger agreement.
From Amicus’ Form 8‑K describing the transaction:
- The parties expect closing in Q2 2026. [12]
- Closing conditions include regulatory approvals (including Hart‑Scott‑Rodino waiting periods and other antitrust/FDI clearances) and approval by Amicus shareholders. [13]
- The merger agreement includes an outside date of June 19, 2026, with two automatic three‑month extensions in certain circumstances if most conditions are satisfied and remaining issues are largely regulatory. [14]
- Under specified circumstances, Amicus would owe BioMarin a $175 million termination fee (including scenarios involving a superior offer or certain board recommendation changes, among others). [15]
In plain English: the deal has a clear timetable, but it also has the usual M&A “escape hatches,” incentives, and guardrails that shape how confidently the market prices that $14.50 endpoint.
How BioMarin plans to pay for it
According to Reuters, BioMarin intends to finance the transaction with a combination of cash on hand and about $3.7 billion in non-convertible debt; BioMarin had about $2 billion in cash and investments as of the end of September. [16]
BioMarin also framed the deal as immediately revenue-additive and improving profitability after closing. [17]
Where Amicus stood before the buyout: growth, profitability progress, and product momentum
Even though the buyout now dominates the story, it didn’t come out of nowhere. Amicus had been showing improving fundamentals.
A Nasdaq/Zacks write-up of Amicus’ Q3 2025 results reported:
- Revenue:$169.1 million (up ~19% year over year; ~17% at constant exchange rates)
- Adjusted EPS:$0.17 (beating consensus estimates cited in the piece)
- Galafold sales:$138.3 million (up ~12% at constant exchange rates)
- Pombiliti + Opfolda net product sales:$30.7 million
- Cash and marketable securities: about $263.8 million as of Sept. 30, 2025 [18]
Fierce Pharma added additional color around the commercial ramp: it reported Galafold generated $458 million in 2024 sales (with year-over-year growth) and said the Pombiliti–Opfolda combination generated $70 million in 2024 sales, with continued growth through the first nine months of 2025. [19]
Those numbers help explain why Amicus became acquirable at scale: it was no longer just “pipeline hope.” It had real marketed revenue, plus a growth runway that a larger commercial machine believes it can widen.
Analyst forecasts and price targets: the pre-deal story vs. the post-deal reality
Before the deal: “Moderate Buy” vibes and upside models
In the days leading up to the acquisition news, some coverage was still treating FOLD as a classic growth-biotech story.
For example, MarketBeat reported that on December 18, Amicus hit a new 52-week high around $11.14, and described a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target in the high teens (in its snapshot at that time). [20]
Zacks also published a December 12 piece discussing consensus targets implying significant upside versus where the stock traded then (a framework that became obsolete the moment a cash bid landed). [21]
After the deal: targets converge on $14.50 and ratings drift to Neutral/Hold
Once a definitive cash offer is on the table, analysts typically stop debating “fair value in 2027” and start debating “probability-weighted closing value.”
MarketBeat’s December 19 update noted Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a neutral stance and referenced a $14.50 price objective (cut from a higher prior level) amid the deal news flow, alongside other banks’ coverage notes. [22]
TipRanks/The Fly also reported Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Amicus to neutral with a $14.50 price target following the acquisition announcement—basically treating the stock as a deal-tracking instrument rather than an open-ended growth equity. [23]
What to watch next: the catalysts that can still move FOLD between now and closing
With a $14.50 cash endpoint, the remaining price movement tends to come from deal probability and deal timing. Key milestones include:
- Proxy process and shareholder vote: Amicus said it would file a preliminary proxy statement and hold a meeting for shareholders to vote on adopting the merger agreement. [24]
- Regulatory review: HSR clearance and other antitrust/foreign direct investment reviews are explicitly called out as closing conditions. [25]
- Any competing bid or “superior offer” dynamics: The merger agreement includes the usual fiduciary-out framework (with constraints), and the termination fee structure is designed to discourage casual interlopers while still allowing a true superior offer to surface. [26]
- Patent/exclusivity clarity: The Galafold litigation settlement and the stated exclusivity runway to 2037 are supportive, but investors will still watch for any new disclosures in filings and proxy materials. [27]
Investing.com’s weekend “stocks of the week” roundup specifically flagged Amicus because of the acquisition headline and reiterated the expected close in Q2 2026—evidence of how quickly the narrative has shifted from “company execution” to “deal completion.” [28]
Scenario analysis: what “forecast” means for a cash buyout stock
This is not investment advice—just the mechanical logic of how markets usually price these situations:
- Base case (deal closes on schedule): FOLD trends toward $14.50, with small fluctuations based on interest rates and perceived closing risk.
- Delay case (deal closes, but later): the stock can sag slightly below $14.50 because waiting longer has a real cost.
- Break case (deal fails): the stock can drop sharply because it often falls back toward a stand‑alone valuation (which, in Amicus’ case, the market had recently priced closer to the $10–$11 range before the offer). [29]
In other words, Amicus stock has effectively changed species: from a “biotech growth equity” into a “deal spread / event-driven equity” until the acquisition either completes or collapses.
The bottom line for Amicus Therapeutics stock on Dec. 20, 2025
Amicus Therapeutics (FOLD) is now trading in the gravity well of BioMarin’s $14.50 cash offer, after a sharp repricing on Dec. 19. The deal brings together two rare-disease specialists, anchored by Amicus’ marketed Fabry and Pompe therapies, plus a Phase 3 pipeline option in DMX-200. [30]
From here, the biggest drivers are no longer quarterly revenue beats—they’re regulatory clearance, shareholder approval, and the calendar. The merger agreement’s structure (including an outside date and a $175 million termination fee) gives investors a concrete framework to judge both risk and timing. [31]
References
1. www.reuters.com, 2. www.sec.gov, 3. www.reuters.com, 4. www.sec.gov, 5. www.sec.gov, 6. www.sec.gov, 7. www.sec.gov, 8. www.wsj.com, 9. www.sec.gov, 10. www.barrons.com, 11. www.investors.com, 12. www.sec.gov, 13. www.sec.gov, 14. www.sec.gov, 15. www.sec.gov, 16. www.reuters.com, 17. www.reuters.com, 18. www.nasdaq.com, 19. www.fiercepharma.com, 20. www.marketbeat.com, 21. www.zacks.com, 22. www.marketbeat.com, 23. www.tipranks.com, 24. www.sec.gov, 25. www.sec.gov, 26. www.sec.gov, 27. www.sec.gov, 28. www.investing.com, 29. www.sec.gov, 30. www.reuters.com, 31. www.sec.gov
