UPDATE: Barclays Capital Initiates Coverage On Biogen On Tecfidera Upside

In a report published Tuesday, Barclays Capital analyst Geoffrey Meacham initiated coverage on Biogen Idec Inc (NASDAQ: BIIB) with an Overweight rating and $425.00 price target.

In the report, Barclays Capital noted, “Biogen's Tecfidera still offers a lot of upside in the multiple sclerosis (MS) market, especially in the EU, where it is early in the launch. Indeed, our EU forecasts are >$100M ahead of consensus for 2015-2017. In the pipeline, we think that phase 2 data for anti-LINGO in acute optic neuritis (AON) in 1Q15 should validate its mechanism based on our research. In turn, this may inject significant enthusiasm for the phase 2 in MS, though that is likely to be a 2016 data event. In the later stage pipeline, phase 3 data for Tysabri in SPMS is a 2H15 event; there are little to no expectations for this >$2.5B opportunity. Overall, we think that Biogen has the right combination of momentum from a healthy MS franchise and momentum from a diverse early to late stage pipeline. As a result, we're initiating coverage with an Overweight rating and $425 price target.”

Biogen closed on Monday at $336.74.