Jefferies Raises Abiomed Price Target To $18

According to Jefferies, Abiomed's ABMD Impella will continue to pump post protect II. Jefferies reported that PROTECT II subgroup analysis demonstrated positive trends despite the earlier futility determination by the DSMB. “Clinician support continues to strengthen supporting our thesis of increased Impella usage. Accordingly, we are raising our PT to $18 from $15. Our sum-of-the-parts analysis generates a new PT of $18 and uses a 4.0x multiple to the avg of F12 through F16 Impella sales (discounted back by 15%), a 1.5x multiple on F12 non-Impella sales, and adds ~$59M in cash. ABMD faces regulatory and reimbursement risks.” Abiomed closed yesterday at $15.15.