UPDATE: MLV & Co Reiterates Buy Rating, Raises PT on Halozyme Therapeutics on Promising Start to 2015

In a report published Thursday, MLV & Co analyst Arlinda Lee reiterated a Buy rating on Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: HALO), and raised the price target from $12.00 to $15.00.In the report, MLV & Co noted, “During its analyst day, HALO announced interim Ph2 PEGPH20 pancreatic cancer results (Study 202) and provided updates on the PEGPH20 clinical development plan in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and gastric cancer. In patients with high levels of Hyaluronan (HA), addition of PEGPH20 to Abraxane + gemcitabine resulted in longer progression-free survival (9.2 vs 4.3 months). In our view, these early results in small numbers of patients are directionally consistent with PEGPH20's purported mechanism of action and clinical effect. Other PEGPH20 clinical studies are ongoing or imminent, including Phase 1b/2 PRIMAL trial in NSCLC and Phase 1b immunotherapy study in NSCLC and gastric cancer. Overall, we view the PEGPH20 data as promising, and we adjust our model to reflect our increased confidence. For pancreatic cancer, we increase our probability of success to 50% from 40% and market penetration to 25% from 20%, resulting in an estimated ~$940M revenue (prior $800M) and representing $7e/share of our SOTP valuation (prior $4).”Halozyme Therapeutics closed on Wednesday at $12.52.