Jefferies Remains Bullish on Arena Pharma (ARNA) But Tempers Valuation Target on Data from Rival

Jefferies cut its price target on Arena Pharma (NASDAQ: ARNA) from $20 to $14 following the company's Q3 results and conference call, but maintained a Buy rating on the long-term potential for Belviq.

"ARNA reiterated its plans for Belviq (1Q13 U.S. launch) and outlined a new South Korean partnership with Ildong," analyst Thomas Wei. "We remain confident in the long-term potential for Belviq based on combination use with phentermine, but we are lowering our PT from $20 to $14, as we moderate our launch expectations for Belviq monotherapy following disappointing sales for competitor Qsymia."

Following data from Vivus (NASDAQ: VVUS) on Qsymia, Wei cut U.S. uptake for Belviq for 2013-2015 while it is being used as monotherapy from $115m to $35m in 2013, from $277m to $85m in 2014, and from $700.5m to $365m in 2015. That said, "we continue to model the true value of ARNA in the demand for combination Belviq+phentermine in 2015 and beyond," the analyst said.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Arena Pharma click here. For more ratings news on Arena Pharma click here.

Shares of Arena Pharma closed at $7.60 yesterday.

---

Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

---

You May Also Be Interested In

• QuantumScape (QS) PT Lowered to $6 at Truist Securities
• Westamerica Bancorp (WABC) PT Lowered to $50 at Piper Sandler
• Alphabet (GOOGL) PT Raised to $180 at Jefferies