Brean Murray Carret & Co. Downgrades Vivus (VVUS); Qsymia Approval Huge, But Struggling with Valuation Until Launch Proves Otherwise
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Price: $14.82 +2.21%
Rating Summary:
6 Buy, 6 Hold, 2 Sell
Rating Trend: = Flat
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 11 | Down: 18 | New: 13
Rating Summary:
6 Buy, 6 Hold, 2 Sell
Rating Trend: = Flat
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 11 | Down: 18 | New: 13
Trade VVUS Now!
Brean Murray Carret & Co. downgraded Vivus (NASDAQ: VVUS) from Buy to Hold. $30 price target removed.
Analyst, Jonathan Aschoff, said, "Vivus held a conference call regarding the approval and launch of Qsymia (formerly Qnexa), and with plans to launch Qsymia in 4Q12, is in the process of hiring a salesforce, and completion of manufacture of launch quantities. Vivus may also be working with an external partner, but didn't give much detail. Qsymia will be launched with a REMS that is focused on teratogenicity, but, in our view, the REMS is not at all burdensome to starting therapy...Initially, Qsymia will be made available through mail order pharmacies only...Perhaps the biggest headwind for Qsymia is that it will only be available for cash pay initially, and we expect reimbursement to take at least one year, something that could encourage use of generic approximations of Qsymia for those struggling to afford it."
FY12 EPS loss lowered from (0.91) to (1.09) and FY13 EPS cut from $0.47 to $0.45.
For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Vivus click here. For more ratings news on Vivus click here.
Shares of Vivus closed at $26.46 yesterday, with a 52 week range of $6.13-$29.99.
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Analyst, Jonathan Aschoff, said, "Vivus held a conference call regarding the approval and launch of Qsymia (formerly Qnexa), and with plans to launch Qsymia in 4Q12, is in the process of hiring a salesforce, and completion of manufacture of launch quantities. Vivus may also be working with an external partner, but didn't give much detail. Qsymia will be launched with a REMS that is focused on teratogenicity, but, in our view, the REMS is not at all burdensome to starting therapy...Initially, Qsymia will be made available through mail order pharmacies only...Perhaps the biggest headwind for Qsymia is that it will only be available for cash pay initially, and we expect reimbursement to take at least one year, something that could encourage use of generic approximations of Qsymia for those struggling to afford it."
FY12 EPS loss lowered from (0.91) to (1.09) and FY13 EPS cut from $0.47 to $0.45.
For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Vivus click here. For more ratings news on Vivus click here.
Shares of Vivus closed at $26.46 yesterday, with a 52 week range of $6.13-$29.99.
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