Analysts Piling Into Dendreon (DNDN)

Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN) has already been all over the news with its positive PROVENGE data for the submission of an FDA application now looking likely late in 2009 with the hopes of a early-2010 to mid-2010 launch in the war against advanced prostate cancer.  So far, analysts have been stepping all over themselves to either raise their ratings and price targets.

So far we have seen 3 formal upgrades: Raised to Buy at Needham with a $38 target; Raised to Buy at Brean Murray with a $35 target; Raised to Outperform at Wachovia.

The biotech was also ‘reiterated’ as a Buy rating at Lazard, although its $25 target has gone up to $33.

We already saw Merriman Curhan Ford raise Dendreon to a Buy and Rodman & Renshaw raise this one to an ‘Outperform’ earlier this month, so all we expect there are higher price targets.

In pre-market trading, this one is  challenging the $28.00 level.  This is an artificial pop in the stock of 135%, but it is still above the $24.00+ levels this was at right before that mystery drop before the shares were halted ahead of the PROVENGE data yesterday.

JON C. OGG