INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Shares of Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. slipped Thursday, a day after police found a woman dead at the Calififornian, mansion of Jonah Shacknai, chairman and CEO of the Scottsdale, Ariz., company.
THE SPARK: The Arizona Republic reported Wednesday that the woman was found in a rear courtyard of Shacknai's mansion in Coronado. The paper said the woman was the CEO's girlfriend, and it quoted a sheriff's captain who said the victim's condition and the scene "showed suspicious circumstances."
That report came a few days after Shacknai's 6-year-old son was hospitalized after a fall at the mansion, the boy's grandmother told the newspaper. The girlfriend, who was not named in the story, was not the boy's mother.
THE BIG PICTURE: Medicis products include the acne treatments Solodyn and Ziana and the facial wrinkle treatment Restylane.
THE ANALYSIS: Wells Fargo analyst Michael Tong said in a research note he has no information about whether Shacknai was "personally involved" in the incident at his mansion. He also said company management "has given assurances that there is a contingency plan to cover the worst-case scenario."
Tong said he expected the headlines to affect the company's stock, but Medicis fundamentals remain intact, and he recommended buying on any weakness.
SHARE ACTION: Down 3.8 percent, or $1.52, to $38.53 in afternoon trading, while broader trading indexes fell slightly.
