Roth Capital Cheers Palatin Technologies, Inc. (PTN) Clinical Success; Boosts Price Target
Julie Lamb, Editor — November 3, 2016, 12:58 PM EDT
Palatin Technologies, Inc. (NYSEMKT:PTN) shares were on a close to 18% rise after market close yesterday after the firm’s pipeline drug bremelanotide (BMT), designed to treat hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), has reached both co-primary endpoints in two Phase III trials in what Roth Capital analyst Joseph Pantginis deems “highly statistically significant fashion.”
On the heels of these stellar results, the analyst finds the data “quite impressive,” commending the “consistency between both Phase IIIs” and subsequently reiterates a Buy rating on PTN while boosting the price target from $4.00 to $7.00, which represents a 1,128% increase from where the shares last closed.
Pantginis notes, “The company has been in extensive partnering discussions with potential suitors, many of which have reached the point of just needing the Phase III data to make a decision. In discussing the topic with management, the company would like to move quickly on signing a deal, however, we cannot predict timing. We believe a major partnership is the most likely outcome for BMT and we believe two leading candidates are Pfizer (PFE-NC) and Allergan (AGN-NC).”
Moving forward, “We now look to next steps for the drug, which we believe will be a partnership. We also see major competitive headwinds for Addyi, because of its Black Box warning, issues such as drug alcohol interactions, chronic intake versus on demand (BMT), and the difficulty in prescribing,” Pantginis concludes, bidding adieu with a tongue-in-cheek “buh bye” to rival Addyi and observing BMT in a stellar position.
With regards to the “rousing BMT clinical success,” the firm is circling for an NDA filing for the second half of 2017.
As usual, we recommend taking analyst notes with a grain of salt. According to TipRanks, analyst Joseph Pantginis is ranked #4,017 out of 4,165 analysts. Pantginis has a 30% success rate and forfeits 14.8% in his yearly returns. When recommending PTN, Pantginis loses 16.8% in average profits on the stock.
Additionally, John Newman at Canaccord rates a Buy on Palatin stock with a price target of $6.00, which represents a nearly 953% increase from current levels.
