UPDATE: JPMorgan Upgrades Orexigen Therapeutics (OREX) to Overweight, Best Opportunity in Obesity Space
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Price: $6.04 -0.17%
Rating Summary:
6 Buy, 5 Hold, 1 Sell
Rating Trend:
Up
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 11 | Down: 35 | New: 23
Rating Summary:
6 Buy, 5 Hold, 1 Sell
Rating Trend:
Up
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 11 | Down: 35 | New: 23
Trade OREX Now!
(Updated - June 28, 2012 3:39 PM EDT)
While broader markets are under pressure Thursday, shares of Orexigen Therapeutics (NASDAQ: OREX) are trading up 18 percent into the close following a upgrade at JPMorgan.
JPMorgan's Cory Kasimov upgraded Orexigen from Neutral to Overweight with a $10 price target, calling it the "most interesting investment opportunity" in the obesity space following approval of Arena Pharmaceuticals's (Nasdaq: ARNA) Belviq.
The firm said while its Contrave has a have a longer path to market, they are confident it will get there and they believe the relative valuation gap versus Arena and VIVUS (Nasdaq: VVUS) "is simply too great to ignore."
"While the FDA threw OREX a curveball with a pre approval CVOT requirement, we expect a clean interim look (at 87 events) as early as 2H13," the analyst said.
Management reiterated their comfort with the study, the firm said.
In addition to Contrave, JPMorgan notes the company has a second unencumbered obesity asset in Empatic that has completed Phase 2b testing and could advance to Phase 3 if VVUS's Qnexa is approved.
"The bottom line is that we expect this valuation discrepancy to narrow over time, and as such, we would be buyers of OREX at current levels." Kasimov states.
For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Orexigen Therapeutics click here. For more ratings news on Orexigen Therapeutics click here.
Shares of Orexigen Therapeutics closed at $4.92 yesterday, with a 52 week range of $1.22-$5.57.
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While broader markets are under pressure Thursday, shares of Orexigen Therapeutics (NASDAQ: OREX) are trading up 18 percent into the close following a upgrade at JPMorgan.
JPMorgan's Cory Kasimov upgraded Orexigen from Neutral to Overweight with a $10 price target, calling it the "most interesting investment opportunity" in the obesity space following approval of Arena Pharmaceuticals's (Nasdaq: ARNA) Belviq.
The firm said while its Contrave has a have a longer path to market, they are confident it will get there and they believe the relative valuation gap versus Arena and VIVUS (Nasdaq: VVUS) "is simply too great to ignore."
"While the FDA threw OREX a curveball with a pre approval CVOT requirement, we expect a clean interim look (at 87 events) as early as 2H13," the analyst said.
Management reiterated their comfort with the study, the firm said.
In addition to Contrave, JPMorgan notes the company has a second unencumbered obesity asset in Empatic that has completed Phase 2b testing and could advance to Phase 3 if VVUS's Qnexa is approved.
"The bottom line is that we expect this valuation discrepancy to narrow over time, and as such, we would be buyers of OREX at current levels." Kasimov states.
For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Orexigen Therapeutics click here. For more ratings news on Orexigen Therapeutics click here.
Shares of Orexigen Therapeutics closed at $4.92 yesterday, with a 52 week range of $1.22-$5.57.
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