Jefferies Raises Price Target On Celgene, Says It Was 'Too Pessimistic'

Jefferies raised its price target from $98 to $140 on Celgene Corporation CELG Monday and maintained a Buy rating.

Analysts led by Thomas Wel offered a “redo” of their financial model after the company provided strong guidance surrounding its Otezla launch and “encouraging feedback from doctors on the potential of new triplet regimens in myeloma.”

Wel noted that the firm’s estimates do not take into account drugs coming later in the pipeline. The revisions were “driven by extended duration and increased share" based on the firm's "expectation for strong data from new triplet regimens using Revlimid and assumptions for strong sales in first-line follicular lymphoma.”

The analyst note acknowledged that the firm had been “too pessimistic on Otezla” and it raised the 2018 estimates for Otezla from $600 million to $1.7 billion and estimated sales at $2.3 billion in 2020. The firm also included GED-301 in its valuation valuation and estimated sales of $500 million in 2020.

The $140 target price was based on 18x estimated 2016 earnings.

Celgene Corporation recently traded at $117.07, down 1.75 percent.