Nippon Shinyaku upgraded to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies

Jefferies analyst Stephen Barker upgraded Nippon Shinyaku (NPNKF) to Hold from Underperform with a price target of 7,300 yen, up from 7,200 yen. Nippon Shinyaku’s shares have "dramatically underperformed arch-rival Sarepta," but risks remain, including a "likely" FDA approval for Sarepta’s (SRPT) gene therapy candidate in May, Barker tells investors. Such an approval for Sarepta may hurt demand for Nippon Shinyaku’s Exon skipping products, the analyst said.