Wyeth upgraded to "buy" - update

02/03/06 - Banc of America

NEW YORK, February 3 (newratings.com) - Analyst Chris Schott of Banc of America Securities upgrades Wyeth (WYE) from "neutral" to "buy," while revising his estimates for the company. The target price has been raised from $49 to $52.

In a research note published yesterday, the analyst mentions that the generic risk to the company has reduced until 2009/2010, with the Effexor XR patent settlement and the potential launch an improved version of Zosyn. Wyeth is scheduled to release the Phase III data for a minimum of four pipeline products, the commercial opportunity for some of which has possibly been underestimated, the analyst says. Given Wyeth’s higher-than-average long-term growth rate, the company’s stock deserves to trade at a premium to that of its large pharma peers, Banc of America Securities adds. The EPS estimate for 2006 has been reduced from $3.06 to $3.04. The EPS estimate for 2008, 2009 and 2010 have been reduced from $3.55 to $3.69, from $3.48 to $3.63 and from $3.77 to $3.89, respectively.