JMP Securites upgrades Idenix stock on HCV pipeline...

Posted on 4/30/12 on CBSNews.com. JMP Securities analyst Lisa Bayko doesn't think much of Idenix's nucleotide inhibitor IDX 184 (recently given the green light from the FDA after a clinical hold) but has higher hopes for compounds deeper in the Idenix pipeline. Specifically, she mentions NS5A inhibitor IDX 719 which Idenix currently retains ownership of.  

April 30, 2012 3:15 PM

Idenix Pharmaceuticals rises on analyst upgrade

NEW YORK — Shares of Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. rose Monday after a JMP Securities analyst upgraded the stock, saying it should trade higher as Idenix reports new data on its experimental hepatitis C drugs.

THE SPARK: Analyst Liisa Bayko upgraded the shares to "Market Perform" from "Market Underperform." Bayko said she doesn't think the company's most advanced drug candidate is effective enough to be the basis of a new treatment for the virus, but had a more optimistic view of some of Idenix's other drug candidates.

"We expect a steady flow of news from Idenix's hepatitis C pipeline in the second half of 2012 to generate increased interest in the stock," she wrote.

THE BIG PICTURE: Idenix is paid royalties on sales of the hepatitis B drug Tyzeka, which is marketed by Swiss drugmaker and Idenix shareholder Novartis AG. Idenix's most advanced drug candidate is designated IDX184. That drug is currently in mid-stage clinical testing. In January, the company started an early-stage trials of a drug candidate called IDX719.

Novartis has an option to license IDX719, but Bayko said she thinks Novartis will decline. That would give Idenix full control of the drug, and it would be able to combine IDX719 with other experimental drugs and look for another development partner.

SHARE ACTION: Idenix stock rose 29 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $8.84 in afternoon trading, after peaking at $9.21 during the session. The shares are down 44 percent from their 52-week high of $15.25, which they set Jan 19.