UPDATE: Jefferies & Company Reiterates Buy Rating, Lowers PT on Ariad Pharmaceuticals

In a report published Monday, Jefferies & Company reiterated its Buy rating on Ariad Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ARIA), but lowered its price target from $27.00 to $23.00.Jefferies & Company noted, “FDA approves Iclusig in CML/Ph+ ALL pts resistant/intolerant to TKIs, ~3 months earlier (PDUFA date of 3/27/13). Boxed warning on previously undisclosed safety issues (potential liver toxicity, arterial thrombosis) is surprising, although it's hard to know whether these are due to Iclusig, underlying disease, or both given single-arm PACE trial (& 1st-line EPIC interim data comparing ponatinib to imatinib expected ~1H14).”Ariad Pharmaceuticals closed on Friday at $18.93.