Here's Why Oppenheimer Upgraded ImmunoGen To Outperform

Christopher Marai of Oppenheimer on Thursday upgraded shares of ImmunoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ: IMGN) to Outperform from Perform with an $11 price target as recent weakness in shares following disappointing results from MARIANNE creates a buying opportunity given a "catalyst-rich" next 12 months.

"We view ImmunoGen's internal program, IMGN-853 in folate-receptor-positive, platinum-resistant ovarian cancer and/or endometrial cancer as the primary value driver going forward, with positive data anticipated at ASCO June 2015," Marai wrote. The analyst also adds that further potential upside to an $11 price target exists if "everything works out" with MARIANNE and Kadcyla in the front-line.

Marai also notes that IMGN-853 should be viewed as "highly de-risked" given improvements over prior moderately successful folate-target therapeutics. The analyst adds that the DM4 payload in ‘853 is a highly potent cytoxic compared to prior approaches and that FR-alpha is well internalized, making it a good ADC target.

Marai also states that over one million patients are diagnosed with FR over-expressing cancers annual and as such ‘853 may find broader applicability.