UPDATE: J.P. Morgan Initiates Enanta Pharmaceuticals with Overweight on Meaningful Upside from Hep C

In a report published Monday, J.P. Morgan analyst Geoff Meacham initiated coverage on Enanta Pharmaceuticals

with an Overweight rating and $25.00 price target. In the report, Meacham noted, “Enanta is a clinical-stage biotech focused on the development of small molecule drugs for infectious diseases, most notably hepatitis C (hep C). The lead program is ABT-450 being developed with AbbVie (covered by JPM analyst Chris Schott) for the treatment of hep C. ABT-450 is currently in multiple phase 3 trials with data expected in 4Q13 and regulatory filings (US and EU) expected in mid-2014. While hep C is a very competitive therapeutic category, our recent physician survey indicates meaningful market share for ABT-450-containing regimens. Prior phase 2 data for ABT-450 regimens support a high probability of phase 3 success and a peak WW opportunity of almost $3B, driving peak royalties to Enanta of ~$175M with no associated costs. While Enanta has other assets in its pipeline, they are in preclinical or phase 1 testing; our $25 Dec 2013 target is based only on value from ABT-450.” Enanta Pharmaceuticals closed on Friday at $19.68.