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Friday, February 17, 2023

Analysts Bullish On Seagen's Catalyst-Rich Pipeline, Finding No Problem With No M&A

 

  • Seagen Inc  reported a Q4 EPS loss of $(0.80), better than the consensus of $(1.05) and $(0.95) a year ago, and revenue of $528.15 million beating the consensus of $480.15 million.
  • The company forecasts 2023 revenue of $2.14-$2.24 billion compared to the consensus of $2.3 billion.
  • Raymond James upgraded the rating to Strong Buy and raised the price target to $175 from $155
  • The upcoming potential accelerated approval of Padcev in 1L cis-ineligible patients (PDUFA 4/21/23) will act as a springboard into the topline data of EV-302 later in the year.
  • Data from HER2CLIMB-02 could expand the Tukysa label and provide clinical and mechanistic insight into the combinability of Tukysa and ADCs.
  • RBC Capital Markets raised its price target to $155 from $145 with an Outperform rating. The analyst writes that pipeline prioritization gives way to continued investment in key spots and shows the presence of an advancing pipeline, underscored by notable (and refreshing) management enthusiasm. 
  • BMO Capital says the step-up in R&D spending vs. consensus is notable. The analyst liked management's tone on the opportunities for investing in the early pipeline and remains at Outperform with a target price of $179 (from $177).
  • Guggenheim expects Adcetris and Padcev to be key sales drivers in 2023, with Adcetris US sales potentially surpassing $1 billion in 2023, while Tukysa continues to face competitive headwinds in breast cancer.
  • William Blair writes that Seagen is entering a catalyst-rich period, and the analyst is most enthusiastic about the potential Padcev approval in treatment-naïve urothelial carcinoma, which can potentially reinvigorate growth for the franchise.

BMO Downgrades Viatris As Its Looks For More Visibility On Next Phase

 

  • BMO Capital Markets has downgraded Viatris Inc  to Market Perform from Outperform and lowered the price estimate to $14 from $16.
  • The analyst writes that Viatris has progressed well with strategic initiatives, but the stock could be rangebound.
  • BMO seems bullish on the Biocon biosimilars sale (closed November) but says the company lacks visibility on the timing/magnitude of the next set of planned divestitures.
  • It also notes the uncertainty on peak potential for the newly acquired Eye Care franchise (well below >$1 billion target by 2028). 
  • If numbers end up much better than expected, and if Viatris sells EU OTC business near-term for a better-than-expected valuation, BMO analyst expects stock appreciation.
  • The analyst says the base business seems stable, but strong execution on the pipeline will be the focus. The company needs to target ~$500 million in new product revenue annually to offset base erosion, but there is a lack of good visibility.

Fake Jeffrey Epstein Probe Used in Alleged Scam of New York Investment Firms

 

  • Jonathan Ghertler accused of impersonating executives of firms
  • US says he got firms to fund probes into bogus Epstein links

A Florida man was charged with impersonating executives of two New York-based investment firms, forcing the firms to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund fake investigations into links between employees and deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Jonathan Ghertler of Orlando, Florida, was arrested on charges including fraud and identity theft, brought by federal prosecutors in New York. The US alleges he posed as the general counsel of an unidentified private equity firm and the founder of an unnamed investment firm and caused their portfolio companies to collectively pay more than $1 million to fund nonexistent probes into connections to Epstein.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-17/fake-epstein-probe-used-in-alleged-scam-of-ny-investment-firms