New Report: Abbvie Is Jefferies' Top Global Pharma Stock

Jefferies and analyst Jeffrey Holford recently released its monthly report on the global pharmaceuticals industry. The report includes Jefferies' top stock picks in the space, as well as a summary of key topics that investors should be watching.

Standout Data

 According to the report, the pharmaceutical industry has very few major upcoming catalysts through the end of July. However, there are one or two news items that could be market-movers, including potential headlines coming for Eli Lilly And Co (NYSE: LLY), Sandoz and Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK).

“Aside from EXPEDITION-EXT for LLY, we see biosimilar data for Enbrel (Sandoz) and Lantus as well as potential European approval of 'New Humira' over the next couple of months as key discussion points for the market,” Holford explains.

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In addition, Jefferies sees potential approval of Novartis AG (ADR) (NYSE: NVS)’s LCZ696 in coming months, but cautions that pricing could be critical when it comes to the approval’s potential positive impact on share price.

Boosting Eli Lilly

In the report, Jefferies raised its price target for Buy-rated Eli Lilly to $100. Holford feels that the market has become “overly-obsessed” with the EXPEDITION-EXT abstract ahead of the upcoming Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in July, but there are plenty of other reasons to own Eli Lilly at the moment.

Holford sees evacetrapib as a driver in the next 12 months and believes that the valuation of the stock is currently appealing given the growth potential of the company and its free cash flow levels.

Top Picks

Overall, Jefferies names AbbVie Inc (NYSE: ABBV) as its top stock pick in the global pharma market. The report also names Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and AstraZeneca plc (ADR) (NYSE: AZN) as two of Jefferies’ favorite pharma names.