NEW YORK (AP) -- A Barclays Capital analyst upgraded shares of Biogen Idec Inc. Wednesday, citing an uptick in patients taking the multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri in March and April.
Analyst Dr. Jim Birchenough upgraded the stock to "Equal Weight" from "Underweight," after the company reported more than 200 additions in both March and April, topping 169 additions seen in the first quarter. Still, he said, he doesn't expect to see the kind of growth the drug posted prior to the disclosure of new cases of a rare brain infection.
In 2008, Biogen and partner Elan Corp. reported four cases of a rare brain infection in patients taking the drug. Concerns about the disease, called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), caused Tysabri to be pulled from the market in 2005. Sales resumed the following year, with restrictions, and have been lackluster since.
Birchenough also increased his price target to $52 from $40.
"While downside risk to Biogen appears lower we believe that sustainable upside is limited as well with continued PML overhang, clustering of European PML cases, flat trends for Avonex and loss of Rituxan European contribution," he said, in a note to investors.
Avonex is the company's other multiple sclerosis drug and Rituxan is a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and rheumatoid arthritis drug, sold in partnership with Genentech, which is now part of Roche. |
