UPDATE: Barclays Capital Initiates Coverage On NPS Pharmaceuticals Ahead Of Natpara Launch

In a report published Tuesday, Barclays Capital analyst Geoffrey Meacham initiated coverage on

with an Overweight rating and $50.00 price target. In the report, Barclays Capital noted, “The FDA approval and launch of Natpara (PDUFA date: January 24, 2015) are major milestones as it will be NPS' second orphan drug launch, which further diversifies the revenue base. Notably, Natpara expectations look low with a consensus of ~$35M (Barclays: $32M) with upside potential from pricing and early demand. For Gattex, sales grew >20% q/q on average in 2014; our forecasts assume 68% y/y growth in 2015, which could be conservative. The rollout of Revestive (Gattex in the EU) is likely to be slower but that is widely reflected in Street forecasts, in our view. In the pipeline, proof-of-concept phase 2 data for NPSP795 for autosomal dominant hypocalcemia (ADH) could come in 1H15, which could further expand the portfolio; this asset isn't factored into our model or Street models. Overall, we think that the combination of potentially two commercial rollouts (Gattex/Revestive and Natpara) and pipeline catalysts (NPSP795) should be upside drivers of NPSP shares; accordingly, we are initiating coverage with an Overweight rating and $50 price target.” NPS Pharmaceuticals closed on Monday at $38.13.