Stifel Initiates Coverage On Proteon Therapeutics

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.