Shares of Achillion Pharmaceuticals (ACHN) Continue Higher Into The Close
ACHN Hot Sheet
Rating Summary:10 Buy, 2 Hold, 1 Sell
Rating Trend: = Flat
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 0 | Down: 0 | New: 1
Shares of Achillion Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ACHN) continue to ramp heading into the close...last trade $6.60, up $0.65 (+10.92%).
Last night, Wells Fargo initiated coverage on ACHN with an Outperform rating (price target range of $8-10) and the analyst said:
"We believe ACHN has a unique asset in pen-genotypic PI '2684-- which shares some properties with nucs. The nuc class has garnered significant attention lately due to its pan-genotypic profile and high barrier to resistance, which translated into high cure rates and viral reductions in recent studies and drove considerable value for companies like Pharmasset (Nasdaq: VRUS) and Inhibitex (Nasdaq: INHX). While not a nuc, ACHN's next-generation PI shares many attributes such as a pangenotypic profile, and also has activity vs. common PI resistance mutations. Additionally, such agents are scarce, as we know of only one other pan-genotypic PI in early clinical development, MRK's MK-5172. If 3-day proof-of-concept data next month shows comparable viral load (VL) declines to '5172 in GT-1 and -3 patients, with clean safety, we believe it will generate excitement and drive value."
"ACHN's NS5A inhibitors round out the broad HCV portfolio. Given their early stage and the crowded development/IP landscape among NS5A inhibitors, we do not yet assign significant value to candidates '2928 and '3102. Still, they do have some unique qualities, and initial virologic data at 2011-end should inform whether '2928 may have a role in proprietary DAA combinations."
Note: Shares of INHX are trading up almost 20% today.
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Last night, Wells Fargo initiated coverage on ACHN with an Outperform rating (price target range of $8-10) and the analyst said:
"We believe ACHN has a unique asset in pen-genotypic PI '2684-- which shares some properties with nucs. The nuc class has garnered significant attention lately due to its pan-genotypic profile and high barrier to resistance, which translated into high cure rates and viral reductions in recent studies and drove considerable value for companies like Pharmasset (Nasdaq: VRUS) and Inhibitex (Nasdaq: INHX). While not a nuc, ACHN's next-generation PI shares many attributes such as a pangenotypic profile, and also has activity vs. common PI resistance mutations. Additionally, such agents are scarce, as we know of only one other pan-genotypic PI in early clinical development, MRK's MK-5172. If 3-day proof-of-concept data next month shows comparable viral load (VL) declines to '5172 in GT-1 and -3 patients, with clean safety, we believe it will generate excitement and drive value."
"ACHN's NS5A inhibitors round out the broad HCV portfolio. Given their early stage and the crowded development/IP landscape among NS5A inhibitors, we do not yet assign significant value to candidates '2928 and '3102. Still, they do have some unique qualities, and initial virologic data at 2011-end should inform whether '2928 may have a role in proprietary DAA combinations."
Note: Shares of INHX are trading up almost 20% today.
Discover Wall Street's best ratings calls with the pros - Ratings Insider Elite. Free Trial!
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