Sirtris (SIRT)

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Sirtris Upgraded by Piper Jaffray

Monday February 4, 7:07 pm ET

Sirtris Rises After Piper Jaffray Analyst Upgrades Stock on Several Drivers Expected in 2008


NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of biopharmaceutical company Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Inc. rose sharply Monday after a Piper Jaffray analyst upgraded the stock, citing multiple potential drivers in 2008.
Sirtris' stock rose $1.17, or 9.7 percent, to $13.23. The stock has ranged between $9.81 and $21.99 over the past year.

Sirtris is developing what are known as sirtuin drugs to treat diseases of aging such as diabetes.

In a note to clients, Piper Jaffray analyst Edward A. Tenthoff said in the second half of 2008 he expects the company to report positive midstage clinical data for experimental diabetes drug SRT-501. He also thinks several other factors will drive up the stock in 2008.

Among them, Sirtris will likely move its first new chemical entity targeting SIRT1 -- which has been shown to regulate parts of the cell responsible for producing energy -- into the clinic during the first half of 2008, the analyst said. He noted that this drug is up to 1,000 times more potent than SRT-501.

In the longer term, Tenthoff sees Sirtris entering a major partnership in 2009 for its SIRT1 technology that could provide significant upside to the stock.

Tenthoff upgraded the stock to "Buy" from "Neutral" and kept his price target at $15.