RBC Capital analyst Kennen MacKay lowered his price target on Amgen to $182 and kept his Sector Perform rating after its Q3 results. The analyst says the quarter was “in line” with “safe” expectations, even as the company’s core business competition is “slow” to impact sales. MacKay further cites an “astonishing” launch of Aimovig with 100K new patients, but also notes the sales decline against sequential volume growth for Amgen’s Repatha.
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Merck price target raised to $84 from $79 at Citi
Citi analyst Andrew Baum raised his price target for Merck to $84 and reiterates a Buy rating on the shares. The analyst says his 20%-plus above consensus non-GAAP earnings estimates beyond 2022 are driven by a continued view that the market underestimates Merck’s market share in the PDx and PARP spaces with Keytruda and Lynparza respectively.
Eidos Therapeutics initiated at Roth Capital
Eidos Therapeutics initiated with a Buy at Roth Capital. Roth Capital analyst Yasmeen Rahimi started Eidos Therapeutics with a Buy rating and $28 price target. The analyst notes that the company’s Phase 2 results are anticipated at the AHA meeting on November 10, and views AG10 as a best-in-class transthyretin stabilizer for treatment of ATTR-CM.
GlaxoSmithKline reports Q3 adjusted EPS 35.5p, up 10% AER, up 14% CER
Reports Q3 group sales GBP8.1B. Pharmaceuticals GBP 4.2 billion, +1% AER, +3% CER; Vaccines GBP 1.9 billion, +14% AER, +17% CER; Consumer Healthcare GBP 1.9 billion, -1% AER, +3% CER. Adjusted Group operating margin of 31.2%, -0.3 percentage points AER; +0.2 percentage points CER. Pharmaceuticals 32.2%; Vaccines 43.0%; Consumer Healthcare 22.0%. Emma Walmsley, CEO, said: “GSK has made further good progress this quarter with CER sales growth in all three businesses, improvements in the Group operating margin at CER and Adjusted earnings per share growth of 14%. Strong commercial execution for key products and new launches, notably Shingrix, together with an effective focus on cost control is driving this improved performance and we now expect 2018 Adjusted EPS growth of 8-10% at CER. Looking further ahead, we remain confident in our ability to deliver the Group outlooks for sales and EPS growth we previously set for the period 2016-2020.”
Dicerna price target raised to $24 after Lilly, Alexion pacts: H.C. Wainwright
H.C. Wainwright analyst Ed Arce raised his price target on Dicerna (DRNA) shares to $24 from $20 after the company announced collaborations with Eli Lilly (LLY) and Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN). Arce views these partnerships as further strong validation of Dicerna’s GalXC RNAi platform and keeps a Buy rating on the shares.
Catasys announces signing of agreement with Capital BlueCross
Catasys announced that it has entered into an agreement with Capital BlueCross, a community-based health insurer serving members in 21 counties in Central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley. Beginning the first quarter of 2019, eligible Capital BlueCross commercial members will be able to take advantage of Catasys’ OnTrak solution, an integrated 52-week program that identifies, engages and treats members with untreated behavioral health conditions that exacerbate chronic medical disease and result in unnecessarily higher medical costs. OnTrak specifically addresses anxiety, depression and substance use disorders among health plan members who may avoid behavioral care, and whose untreated or undertreated behavioral conditions negatively impact co-morbid medical conditions. By uniquely engaging these members in a program that produces durable behavior change, OnTrak can significantly improve the quality of members’ lives while reducing healthcare costs.
MeiraGTx announces exclusive licensing agreement with NIDCR for AAV-AQP1
MeiraGTx announced an exclusive licensing agreement with the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, or NIDCR, a division of the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, an agency of the United States Department of Health & Human Services. Under the agreement, MeiraGTx will receive worldwide rights to adeno-associated virus vector mediated gene delivery of aquaporin-1, designated AAV-AQP1, for Sjogren’s syndrome patients with associated xerostomia or xerophthalmia. The license agreement includes standard and customary U.S. Government terms and provisions. MeiraGTx and the NIDCR are currently partnered in two cooperative research and development agreements, or CRADAs, one supporting preclinical work investigating AAV-AQP1 as a treatment for inadequate salivary gland function associated with Sjogren’s syndrome, and the other covering an ongoing Phase 1 dose escalation clinical study of AAV-AQP1 in patients with grade 2 or 3 radiation-induced xerostomia. Sjogren’s syndrome is a systemic autoimmune disorder that impairs one’s ability to secrete fluids such as saliva and tears. Symptoms include dry mouth, which can cause difficulty speaking, tasting food or swallowing, and dry eyes, which can be associated with itching, burning, blurry vision or intolerance to fluorescent lighting. Other serious symptoms can occur in Sjogren’s syndrome, such as fatigue and chronic pain or damage to major organs.
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