UPDATE: Deutsche Bank Reiterates Buy Rating, Lowers PT on Auxilium Pharmaceuticals on Strong Q4 EPS

In a report published Wednesday, Deutsche Bank reiterated its Buy rating on Auxilium Pharmaceuticals

, but slightly lowered its price target from $22.00 to $21.00. Deutsche Bank noted, “Excluding one-time items, AUXL reported Q4 EPS of $0.11 vs co compiled consensus of $0.03 on revs of $79M. While revs were largely anticipated given that the company had pre-announced 2012 sales last month, the better than expected EPS performance was primarily due to significantly lower than expected SG&A expenses (-$7M below our est). Of note, Xiaflex finally exceeded expectations, with Q4 sales of $17.5M, or $1.5M ahead of our forecast. We continue to see Xiaflex as an attractive long-lived asset with significant commercial potential, driven by a number of indications with unmet need and hence, maintain our BUY rating.” Auxilium Pharmaceuticals closed on Tuesday at $17.06.