Sterne Agee Sees Mixed Factors For Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

In a report published Friday, Sterne Agee analyst Shibani Malhotra reiterated a Neutral rating and $53.00 price target on

. In the report, Sterne Agee noted, “Teva reported 1Q14 earnings this morning of $1.22 (9% increase YoY) on revenues of $5bn (2% increase YoY, in line with expectations of $1.22 per share and $5.1bn, respectively. It was very reassuring to hear Teva's new CEO, Erez Vigodman, on the earnings call discussing the company's transformation and focus on getting Teva's house in order, but we believe that he must execute on such plans before investors get more excited about the stock. We remain on the sidelines for now, given uncertainty around the approval and launch potential of Copaxone generics in late May 2014. We are revising our EPS estimates downwards due to a now-corrected error in our model and not due to any fundamental changes to our thesis or the company.” Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. closed on Thursday at $50.97.