Vertex defended across the board despite the setback
- Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) continues to trade lower with a ~14.0% loss in the pre-market on its decision to halt the development of VX-864 for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, as announced by the company yesterday after the close.
- However, according to Barclays analyst Gena Wang, the expected weakness in shares today “could create a buying opportunity,” as she argues that the current stock price implies “no value for any pipeline assets and some discount” for its cystic fibrosis (CF) franchise.
- Reiterating the overweight rating, Wang has however lowered the price target to $285.00 from $302.00 per share indicating an upside of ~31.5%.
- Pointing to the company’s high growth cystic fibrosis business, Citi analyst Mohit Bansal with a buy rating and a similar price target also sees the stock’s valuations as an attractive entry point.
- Meanwhile, maintaining the buy rating Guggenheim analyst Debjit Chattopadhyay cut the price target to $240.00 from $285.00 per share implying a premium of ~10.7%.
- Driven by sales of CF drug TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO, Vertex financials came ahead of expectations for Q1 2021.
Biogen given a Street-high price target by Bernstein
- Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) continues to attract bullish calls after the company received the FDA approval for Alzheimer’s medicine Aduhelm Monday.
- The latest to join the bandwagon is Bernstein analyst Ronny Gal who upgraded the stock to outperform from market perform. Matching the current Wall Street high, the price target of $500.00 per share implies a premium of ~20.6%.
- Biogen shares on course to witness the best week in two decades have added ~1.6% in the pre-market.
- Subject to effective execution, the company is on track to reach broader leadership in Alzheimer’s space, the analyst argues.
- Gal also predicts strong commercial adoption for the therapy and rules out regulatory scrutiny for new Alzheimer’s treatments until budgetary impact is assessed.
- Meanwhile, the fallout from the controversial approval of Aduhelm continues with the resignations of several board members of that FDA expert panel that voted against its licensure last year.
CareCloud initiated overweight at Cantor
- CareCloud (NASDAQ:MTBC) is trading ~5.0% higher in the pre-market after Cantor Fitzgerald initiated the coverage of the stock with an overweight recommendation. The price target set to $15.00 per share indicates a premium of ~75.6%.
- The analyst Steven Halper expects the company’s acquisition-led growth trajectory to continue and argues that the company has a competitive advantage in pricing thanks to its large offshore workforce.
- In January 2020, the healthcare IT firm previously known as MTBC acquired CareCloud in a cash and stock deal.
Ocugen price target cut by analysts
- Ocugen (NASDAQ:OCGN) lost more than a quarter of its value after the company announced it will pursue a regular pathway for the approval of its COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S.
- In reaction to a potential slowdown in the commercialization of the vaccine, Cantor Fitzgerald with a neutral rating on the stock has lowered the price target of the stock to a Street-low of $4.00 from $11.00 indicating a downside of ~40.2%.
- Dropping the probability of success to achieve future sales, the analyst Kristen Kluska has excluded the projected sales for Q4 and 2022. Ocugen has risen ~2.2% in the pre-market today.
- Meanwhile, Roth Capital Partners analyst Zegbeh Jallah has downgraded the stock to neutral from buy with the price target of $6.00 implying a downside of ~10.3%.
- Previously, Ocugen expected to submit an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) application for Covaxin by June.
Organon ends the slide after a bullish call from Evercore ISI
- Organon (NYSE:OGN), Merck spinoff focused on women’s health and biosimilars, snapped a four-day long losing streak yesterday after Evercore ISI initiated the coverage with an outperform rating.
- The analyst Umer Raffat predicts the stock has upside into the mid-to high-$30s and notes that the company’s low- to mid-single-digit growth target is achievable for the next three years.
- Despite the multi-year growth target, Organon’s Pro-forma revenue is expected to fall this year.
All share price moves are calculated based on the market close unless otherwise stated.