Have Analysts Fully Priced in Praluent to Regeneron?

Health and Healthcare

Published: July 27, 2015 11:53 am

Last Updated: April 27, 2020 10:49 pm

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) and Sanofi (NYSE: SNY) announced last Friday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Praluent (alirocumab) Injection. Praluent is indicated as an adjunct to diet and maximally tolerated statin therapy for the treatment of adults with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia or clinical atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), who require additional lowering of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.

Those involved with the study believe that Praluent represents the culmination of more than a decade of tireless work to translate the genetic-based discovery of PCSK9 into an innovative medicine that brings meaningful value to patients.

Christopher Cannon, M.D., Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Cardiovascular Division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, commented on the approval:

In the ODYSSEY clinical trial program, two doses of alirocumab showed significant LDL cholesterol lowering in a variety of patients who were not able to adequately lower their LDL cholesterol with current standard of care alone. The majority of patients achieved their LDL-lowering goals with the 75 mg dose, when added to maximally tolerated dose of a statin, with a generally acceptable safety profile.

However despite this good news, the reaction in Friday’s trading session was not as expected. Shares of Regeneron actually dropped 2.7% to close at $541.85.

After the news broke last Friday, Regeneron shares had a consensus analyst price target of $525.83, which implies a downside of 2.4% from current prices. The highest price target comes from Deutsche Bank just a couple weeks ahead of the announcement and it is $650, implying an upside of 20.6%.

It appears that even after this release most analysts already accounted for the news and had already priced it into their targets.

Shares of Regeneron were down 0.6% at $538.80 on Monday. The stock has a 52-week trading range of $299.73 to $569.91.

Sanofi shares were relatively flat at $53.55 on a 52-week trading range of $43.57 to $57.42. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $56.60.

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