UPDATE: Morgan Stanley Raising Price Target On Alexion Pharmaceuticals

Morgan Stanley is out with a research report on Alexion Pharmaceuticals ALXN and is raising its price target to $61 from $56 after it reported earnings. It has an Overweight rating on shares. In a note to clients, Morgan Stanley writes, "Alexion reported a strong 2Q11 with Soliris sales of $185.7mn ahead of both our and the Street's expectation of $178mn. In addition, the company raised revenue guidance meaningfully (from $720-$740mn to $745-$755mn) for 2011 sales. We continue to expect solid Soliris growth in the remainder of 2011 and beyond as 1) the base PNH business continues to grow in the existing US/EU markets, 2) the more recent launches in Japan and Australia accelerate, and 3) a HUS approval in the US is likely before YE11." Shares of ALXN gained $4/73 yesterday to close at $56.77, a gain of 9.09%.