UPDATE: Bank of America Reiterates Buy Rating, Lowers PT on Vivus on Failed Qsiva Appeal

In a report published Friday, Bank of America reiterated its Buy rating on Vivus VVUS, but lowered its price target from $30.00 to $26.00. Bank of America noted, “VVUS has announced that the EU regulatory agency (CHMP) confirmed its October 2012 decision to decline approval for the company's weight loss drug Qsiva (Qsymia in the US) without a pre-approval cardiovascular outcomes trial (CVOT) to establish long-term safety. VVUS management does not plan to pursue further action on this ruling but may pursue other ex-US opportunities and could re-visit EU approval with interim data from its US-required post approval CVOT. We had assumed a low probability of approval in the EU, given continued caution in that region on prescription weight loss medications. Removing our ex-US royalty estimates lowered our NPV by ~$3/share. While our DCF-derived PO is now $26 ($30 previously), our favorable outlook for VVUS is unchanged.” Vivus closed on Thursday at $12.88.