Roth Capital Bumps PT on Ligand Pharma (LGND) up to $151 Following Sparsentan Data; Affirms at 'Buy'

Roth Capital boosts its price target on Buy-rated Ligand Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: LGND) from $149 to $151 after the company announced positive data from the sparsentan Phase II study in FSGS patients.

Analyst Joseph Pantginis commented today, This is an important win for RTRX/LGND and management indicated that efficacy for sparsentan exceeded expectations (projected 50% improvement, where a >two-fold improvement was seen) and irbesartan performed as expected. RTRX is now looking to engage regulatory authorities to define the most accelerated path forward for the drug. Based on the unmet medical need (no approved therapies for FSGS), we still project accelerated approval in 2017 for the launch and look forward to regulatory visibility. Where we believe our projections are conservative revolves around or peak sales estimate. We currently project $425 million in peak sales. For the U.S. market this represents ~12% market penetration based on $100,000 per year treatment cost. If sparsentan represents the first potential drug approved for FSGS, we believe the penetration rate could be much higher. Looking forward we continue to highlight the readout of the Kyprolis Phase III CLARION study later this year as well as the internal initiation of the Phase II for LGD-6972 for diabetes this quarter.

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

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