UPDATE: Piper Jaffray Assumes Coverage on Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Upgrades to Overweight, Raises PT on IPI-145 Potential

In a report published Friday, Piper Jaffray assumed coverage on Infinity Pharmaceuticals

, upgrading its rating from Neutral to Overweight, and raised its price target from $14.00 to $53.00. Piper Jaffray noted, “We are assuming coverage of Infinity with an Overweight rating and $53 price target. We believe IPI-145 could compete in the multi-billion dollar markets being developed by Pharmacyclics' ibrutinib and Gilead's GS-1101 for hematological malignancies. We are projecting peak sales of $2bn+ in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), $150mn in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), and $750mn in follicular lymphoma (FL). Similar to our PCYC thesis, we believe physicians are eager to move away from traditional chemotherapy drugs, and would embrace targeted therapies with relatively benign safety profiles, opening blockbuster opportunities for IPI-145. We expect updated Phase I/II data in hematological malignancies at ASCO (May 31-June 4) and ASH (Dec 7-10) to drive shares in 2013, with positive data in other disorders (i.e., MM, DLBCL, HL,allergic asthma, and RA) to provide further upside.” Infinity Pharmaceuticals closed on Thursday at $41.33.