Courtesy of Benzinga.
Stifel initiated coverage on Proteon Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: PRTO) Monday with a Buy rating and $17 price target.
Analysts led by Brian Klein commented that "Proteon is set to enter the growing ESRD market with lead Phase 3 product PRT-201, in development to reduce vascular access failure in patients requiring arteriovenous fistulas for hemodialysis.
"Given the dire necessity of functional vascular access for dialysis and with impressive Phase 2 results we believe Proteon is primed to succeed in the ongoing Phase 3 program and establish a new standard of care."
Klein noted that in "an environment focused on healthcare spending, the $33 billion ESRD marketplace is one that comes constant under scrutiny; PRT-201’s effectiveness could greatly reduce the $2.5 billion spent annually on dialysis vascular access. In addition we note that as a surgical add-on, this product would be excluded from the dialysis payments bundle."
The analyst report concluded that "given the opportunity for PRT-201 to become an entrenched standard of care in a large AVF indication, we believe Proteon could be a compelling potential acquisition target to large pharmaceutical/biotechnology, including Sanofi, Novartis, Amgen with established renal franchises, or even medical device companies targeting vascular surgeons. We do not anticipate any acquisition would occur until after Phase 3 data readout but could provide upside to our estimates."
Proteon Therapeutics recently traded at $10.20, up 1.01 percent.
Latest Ratings for PRTO
Date | Firm | Action | From | To |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nov 2014 | JMP Securities | Initiates Coverage on | Market Outperform | |
Nov 2014 | Baird | Initiates Coverage on | Outperform | |
Nov 2014 | Oppenheimer | Initiates Coverage on | Outperform |
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Posted-In: Brian Klein StifelAnalyst Color Price Target Initiation Analyst Ratings