Biotech Values

[ariadndndough]

citi ups mrk target to 50 bucks from 34 big increase.

been along time since i saw merck up 2 dollars in the premarket.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Merck & Co. climbed in premarket trading on Thursday as an analyst raised his rating and price target for the company after it announced that there was clear evidence in a study that its osteoporosis drug odanacatib was working.

Merck said Wednesday that it was ending the late-stage clinical trial based on an analysis of early results by an independent monitoring committee.

The Whitehouse Station, N.J., company plans to file in the first half of 2013 for marketing approval of odanacatib in the U.S., European Union, and Japan.

drew an upgrade to buy from neutral at Citi after the drug maker set plans to close an advanced clinical trial of its odanacatib osteoporosis drug. An interim analysis showed that the drug met its primary goals. Merck plans to apply for regulatory approval of the drug in the U.S., Europe and Japan in the first half of 2013. Citi hiked its price target for Merck to $50 a share from $34 a share and raised its sales estimate for odanacatib to $2 billion by 2020, up from $900 million. "Odanacatib represents the most important asset in Merck's troika of new oral primary care opportunities that include suvorexant (an insomnia drug)...and Tredaptive (a cholesterol medicine)," analysts said. Shares of Merck rose nearly 4% in premarket trades.