Why Two Wall Street Titans Love BioMarin Pharma?

In a report published Tuesday, Piper Jaffray analyst Joshua E. Schimmer maintained an Overweight rating on

, while raising the price target from $163 to $168. BioMarin reported its 2Q15 results ahead of expectations primarily due to "lumpy Naglazyme purchasing," while reiterating its guidance for the year. Analyst Joshua Schimmer pointed out that the "PDUFA date for drisapersen for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is December 27th, and this is poised to be one of the most impactful binary events in large cap biotech through yearend. Its impact for BMRN dwarfs many of its other catalysts expected over the next 6-12 months." The company's strong track record in getting FDA approval for orphan drugs, along with the unmet need and supportive dataset, indicates high chances of approval. In the report Piper Jaffray noted, "BMRN continues to spend heavily in a way that positions the company to achieve or deliver strong and sustainable EPS growth once it transitions to a profitability story." Other events that are crucial for BioMarin's growth include the enrollment of the higher dose cohort of vosoritide for achondroplasia and the availability by the yearend of the initial clinical data for BMN 270 for hemophilia. In a separate report, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey analyst Edward Nash maintained a Buy rating and a $170 price target on BioMarin, saying that the company's robust 2Q performance was driven by a very strong Vimizim performance and a large Naglazyme order from Latin America. "With an AdCom expected in Nov. 2015, all eyes are on drisapersen, as an approval could support profitability for 2017. Other pipeline assets continue to make progress and we recommend investors own BMRN ahead of the potential drisapersen approval and other 2H15 catalysts including possible registrational Phase I/II data from Batten (BMN 190) by YE15," Nash wrote. BioMarin reiterated its previous FY15 total revenue guidance of $850-$880M, which appears to be "conservative given the number of markets that have not yet been penetrated," Nash said. BioMarin's strong experience in rare genetic diseases should allow the company to deal with the "lack of understanding as to which mutations are treatable with drisapersen," the SunTrust report stated.