UPDATE: Bank of America Merrill Lynch Reiterates Buy Rating, Raises PT on Eli Lilly

In a report published Wednesday, Bank of America Merrill Lynch reiterated its Buy rating on Eli Lilly & Co.

, and raised its price target from $46.00 to $52.00. BofA Merrill Lynch noted, “Ramucirumab is a monoclonal antibody in development for multiple tumor types, with breast, lung and gastric being the furthest along in development (Phase III). Similar to Roche/Genentech's ~$6bn drug Avastin, ramu works by reducing tumors' access to blood supply. Ramu's specific mechanism of action is somewhat different, and based on pre-clinical and clinical data LLY believes that ramu could have some efficacy and/or tolerability advantages over Avastin. We are introducing preliminary sales estimates for ramu, with a launch in 2015 and sales ramping to a modest $500mn 5 years later.” Eli Lilly & Co. closed on Tuesday at $44.71.