Teva Pharmaceuticals Could Be Poised For A Turnaround

Credit Suisse analyst Vamil Divan upgraded Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ADR) TEVA from Neutral to Outperform, while lowering the target price from $59 to $52 (representing a 23 percent upside).

Divan cited the company's selloff since May as the key reason for the upgrade, adding that the risks associated with its multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone franchise are now priced into the company’s shares.

The District Court of Wilmington, Delaware, is expected to pass judgment on Teva’s Copaxone patent case in early 2017. This judgement is likely to go against Teva and open the door for generic versions of the company’s Copaxone 40 mg/ml, according to Divan.

Further Catalysts Ahead Of Earnings Print

The analyst also highlighted the near-term catalyst of Teva’s November 15 Q3 earnings report.

Divan pointed to the company’s robust long-term opportunity and positive catalysts into 2017.

“2017 sets up well with the likely approval of SD-809 and what we believe will be positive phase 3 data for TEV-48125, highlighting the longer-term growth story on the branded side of the business,” said Divan. “For generics we believe drug pricing deflation will remain in the expected range while TEVA will be able to take advantage of some first-to- file opportunities, extract synergies from the Actavis deal and begin delivering meaningful margin expansion.”

At time of writing, shares of Teva Phamaceticals were up 0.43 percent at $42.50.