Sterne Agee Believes Allergan Is In Stronger Position Than Originally Thought

In a report published Wednesday, Sterne Agee analyst Shibani Malhotra reiterated a Buy rating and $185.00 price target on Allergan (NYSE: AGN).

In the report, Sterne Agee noted, “We met with Allergan management today and we have also received feedback from shareholders who spent time with CEO David Pyott. We now believe that Allergan has more options and is in a stronger position than we'd originally assumed. We now believe that Valeant will have to pay an even higher premium to acquire Allergan and we do not expect resolution until 2H 2014, after the DARPin phase II data.

"We maintain our Buy rating on AGN and $185 PT which notably does not include an M&A premium. We are adjusting our 2015E EPS from $8.63 to $6.70 to reflect a more gradual decline in R&D expense.”

Allergan closed on Tuesday at $161.28.