Thursday, July 12, 2012

Citi Ups Merck Target -- From $34 to $50 -- Now A "Buy"


As I've said before -- Citi is usually late to the party, but it is right about the directionality, here. See the CBS MarketWatch blurb:

. . . .Merck Thursday drew an upgrade to buy from neutral at Citi after the drug maker set plans to close an advanced clinical trial of its odanacatib osteoporosis drug. An interim analysis showed that the drug met its primary goals. Merck plans to apply for regulatory approval of the drug in the U.S., Europe and Japan in the first half of 2013. Citi hiked its price target for Merck to $50 a share from $34 a share and raised its sales estimate for odanacatib to $2 billion by 2020, up from $900 million. "Odanacatib represents the most important asset in Merck's. . . new oral primary care opportunities. . . .

Well done, Whitehouse Station! Merck is up 4 percent at the open, on a down market day.

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