(By Balachander) Brean Capital LLC initiated shares of Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ: CELG) with a "buy" rating and price target of $100.
In the near term, CELG's share price is likely to be driven by how investors contemplate the peak revenue potential for Pomalidomide, Apremilast and Abraxane, in light of recent progress reported, the brokerage said.
"CELG has offered long-term guidance of achieving $8-9B in peak revenue by 2015, and our conservative estimates suggest the company will easily meet the low end of that guidance," Brean Capital said.
The brokerage expects regulatory submissions for Apremilast (psoriatic arthritis) and Abraxane (melanoma and pancreatic cancer) in early 2013, based on recent positive results from pivotal studies.
In addition, Brean Capital expects pivotal data for Apremilast in psoriasis indication from the ESTEEM Phase 3 program to be available starting YE12. Expansion into psoriasis could add up to $1B in additional peak revenue for Apremilast, the brokerage said.
The company currently markets Revlimid, and Thalomid for the treatment of various forms of multiple myeloma, and VIDAZA for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes.
Brean Capital expects Revlimid in multiple myeloma to remain CELG's largest, single revenue generator through patent expiration in 2027, yielding an additional $1B in revenue growth ($4.8B) by 2015 through expansion geographically and expansion in current and new myeloma settings.
CELG shares, which have been trading in the range of $58.53 to $81.24 over the past year, inched 0.88 percent higher to trade at $77.82 on Wednesday.