Seagen Chief Executive Clay Siegall resigned Monday amid domestic violence allegations and SGEN stock surged.
The alleged incident occurred in Siegall's home. Siegall, who is going through a divorce, has denied the claim. However, he was placed on leave last week while the board and an independent law firm investigated the incident that led to Siegall's arrest.
On Monday, the board and Siegall agreed "it is in the best interests of Seagen and its stakeholders for him to resign at this time," according to a news release.
Siegall's resignation wasn't driven by the investigation's findings, the release said. The board now is looking for a permanent CEO. In the meantime, Chief Medical Officer Roger Dansey will hold that position on an interim basis. Felix Baker, former lead independent director, took up Siegall's role as chairman of the board. SGEN stock initially fell close to 12% on news of Siegall's leave.
"As we move forward, the board has great confidence in the leadership of Roger Dansey, the senior management team and the near 3,000 employees to continue Seagen's impressive growth trajectory," Baker said in a written statement.
On today's stock market, SGEN stock jumped 5.1% to 142.54.
SGEN Stock: Catalyst-Heavy 2022
The transition comes at a tricky time for Seagen, which has a number of studies in play right now. Analysts expect the results of multiple studies testing cancer drugs — Padcev, Tukysa and Adcetris — in the latter half of the year.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Gregory Renza applauded the board's quick action. The move marks "an important step in this turbulent stretch that has shrouded Seagen's leadership in near-term uncertainty," he said. Renza kept his sector perform rating and 136 price target on SGEN stock.
"The company moving forward in rapid fashion alleviates some early open questions, though the developments continue to generate (questions) on how long this affects Seagen longer term and from the view of larger strategic players," he said in a report to clients.
He noted Siegall has also stepped down from his role on the board of Nurix Therapeutics.
SGEN stock, which tumbled below its 50-day and 200-day lines last month, retook its 50-day moving average Monday, according to MarketSmith.com.
Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.
