Celgene reaches new highs as analyst raises target
Celgene rises to new highs as analyst boosts price target, citing new and experimental drugs
NEW YORK (AP) -- Celgene Corp. shares reached new all-time highs Monday after a Cantor Fitzgerald analyst raised her price target on the stock, saying new products will make Celgene less reliant on its top-selling cancer drug Revlimid.
THE SPARK: Analyst Mara Goldstein, who rates Celgene shares "Buy," raised her price target to $142 from $121. Goldstein said Celgene is getting more revenue from newer drugs and is becoming less dependent on Revlimid, which brought in about 70 percent of its product revenue in 2012.
She said Celgene's experimental psoriasis drug apremilast will be a significant product for the company and noted that Celgene has a strong pipeline of drugs in mid-stage clinical testing.
Goldstein said Celgene will get about 61 percent of its product revenue from Revlimid in 2016.
THE BIG PICTURE: In 2012 Celgene reported $5.51 billion in revenue and $5.39 billion in product sales. Sales of Revlimid, a treatment for the bone marrow cancer multiple myeloma and some cases of anemia, totaled $3.77 billion. The company is seeking new marketing approvals for Revlimid to further expand its sales.
The Summit, N.J., company expects $6 billion in product revenue in 2013, including $4.1 billion to $4.2 billion in Revlimid revenue.
Celgene's other products include Vidaza, which is used to treat a group of blood disorders called myelodysplastic syndrome, Abraxane for advanced breast or non-small cell lung cancer, and Thalomid for multiple myeloma and leprosy.
The company is preparing to file for marketing approval of apremilast as a treatment for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Celgene is studying new treatments for solid tumors, small cell lung cancer, lymphoma, and Crohn's disease. It is also running mid- and late-stage studies of Abraxane as a treatment for several other types of cancer.
SHARE ACTION: Celgene shares rose $4.24, or 3.5 percent, to $126.60 in afternoon trading, and earlier in the day they peaked at $127.57. Celgene shares have climbed 63 percent in 2013 and their value has nearly doubled over the last 10 months.
