Amarin is a 'little fish in a big pond'- Oppenheimer

Matinas BioPharma Holdings

20/11/2019 11:16

** Drugmaker's shares  AMRN.O  fall 4.5% to $21.70 premarket
    
    ** Oppenheimer analyst Leland Gershell starts covering stock
with "underperform" rating, PT of $7; median Street PT is $28
    ** Says co's current valuation reflects expectations that it
will win expanded approval for its fish-oil derived treatment
Vascepa and that sales will grow to over $2 bln by 2023-2024
    ** However, brokerage disagrees; "We forecast sales growth
to underwhelm and heavy selling costs to impede profitability."
    ** Vascepa was approved in 2012 for patients with high
triglyceride levels; if expanded approval comes through by end
of the year, it could open up a multi-billion opportunity for co
    ** However, Gershell says rival data likely to weigh on AMRN
shares as competing products appear to have superior profiles;
calls AMRN a "little fish in a big pond"
    ** Companies like Acasti  ACST.V  and Matinas  MTNB.A  are
also developing omega-3 fatty acid-based treatments similar to
Vascepa 
    ** "While some may regard AMRN as a probable M&A target, we
see the likelihood of this outcome as only shrinking with time,"
Gershell adds
    ** Seven of remaining nine brokerages covering AMRN rate it
"buy" or higher, two "hold" 
    ** Up to Tuesday's close, AMRN shares had risen 67% YTD

 (Reporting by Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru)
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