In a report released yesterday, Jay Olson from Oppenheimer maintained a Buy rating on Portola Pharma (NASDAQ: PTLA), with a price target of $60. The company’s shares closed yesterday at $27.82, close to its 52-week low of $24.63.
Olson noted:
“We update our PTLA outlook based on recent announcements regarding resignation of COO and PAS submission to the FDA for large-scale manufacturing of Andexxa (8/31). We believe the COO’s resignation is directly related to a disappointing launch trajectory for Bevyxxa given the proximity to underwhelming 2Q financial results and CEO retirement. We also believe PTLA shares have been unfairly penalized by Bevyxxa underperformance considering the relative contribution of Andexxa to our PTLA valuation (Exhibit 1). We are encouraged by the PAS submission and believe investor focus should eventually shift to Andexxa and away from Bevyxxa. We are reducing our peak sales estimates for Bevyxxa to ~$300M (vs. ~$400M prior) while maintaining our $60 PT and Outperform rating.”
According to TipRanks.com, Olson is a 1-star analyst with an average return of -1.4% and a 44.4% success rate. Olson covers the Healthcare sector, focusing on stocks such as Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Inc, Eiger Biopharmaceuticals, and Conatus Pharmaceuticals.
Currently, the analyst consensus on Portola Pharma is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $45.60, a 63.9% upside from current levels. In a report issued on August 27, William Blair also maintained a Buy rating on the stock.
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The company has a one-year high of $57.70 and a one-year low of $24.63. Currently, Portola Pharma has an average volume of 1.41M.
Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 45 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is positive on the stock. This means that over the past quarter there has been an increase of insiders buying their shares of PTLA in relation to earlier this year.
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Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. engages in the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics in the areas of thrombosis and hematologic disorders, and inflammation. Its FDA-approved medicines include Bevyxxa (betrixaban), the oral, once-daily Factor Xa inhibitor, and Andexxa coagulation factor Xa (recombinant), inactivated-zhzo, the antidote for the Factor Xa inhibitors rivaroxaban and apixaban. The company was founded by Charles J. Homcy and David R. Philips on September 2, 2003 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, CA.
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