Hapoalim Securities Reiterates Buy Rating on Amarin Corporation (AMRN)

Hapoalim Securities is out with a research report this morning, where it reiterates its Buy rating on Amarin Corporation AMRN; it has a $12.00 price target on the stock.

The HS analysts cited the company's recent positive MARINE trial, which was a 12-week pivotal study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of 2 and 4 gram doses of AMR101 in 229 patients with TG levels greater than 500 mg/dL.

The study's primary endpoint, the percent change in TG levels from baseline to week 12, was met for both the 4 and 2g dose. 4g of AMR101 showed a significant median TG decrease of 33 % (p < 0.0001) versus placebo, and 2g of AMR101 showed a significant median TG decrease of 20 % (p = 0.0051) versus placebo. AMR101 did not result in an increase in median LDL-C versus placebo at either dose (-2.3% for the 4g group and +5.2% for the 2g group [p = NS]).

As for valuation, the analysts remarked, “Our Price Target of $12.00 for Amarin shares is based on a sum-of-the-parts valuation, using our peak sales estimate for AMR101 and we add in cash as of December 31, 2010 plus the cash received from the January secondary offering. Our sum-of-the-parts valuation assumes that pharmaceutical products are generally sold at 4x peak sales.”