** Barclays initiates Danish pharmaceutical group Zealand Pharma ZELA.CO with "overweight", seeing the stock's current levels as an attractive entry point for investors
** The broker says it remains confident in the company's long-term growth potential despite recent competitor pressures and potential setbacks for its amylin drug candidate
** But it expects a relatively sparse number of catalysts to drive performance near-term, adding the investor enthusiasm for the obesity market has moderated this year
** Barclays sets a target price of DKK 560
** Zealand Pharma shares rise 2.4% to DKK 372; they are down 48% YTD
** Out of 15 analysts that cover Zealand Pharma, 12 rate the stock "strong buy" or "buy" and three "hold" - LSEG data
(Reporting by Agnieszka Gosciak-Rabalska)
((Agnieszka.gosciak@thomsonreuters.com))