Opko Health upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Barrington

Barrington analyst Michael Petusky upgraded Opko Health (OPK) earlier today to Outperform from Market Perform with a $2 price target after the company and partner Pfizer (PFE) announced that the FDA had approved Ngenla, a long-acting human growth hormone indicated for the treatment of pediatric patients aged three years and older who are experiencing growth failure due to inadequate secretion of endogenous growth hormone. Opko will receive a $90M milestone payment from Pfizer, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Ngenla is the third long-acting weekly product approved for the pediatric market in the U.S., joining offerings from Ascendis (ASND) and Novo Nordisk (NVO), the firm points out. It expects the three offerings to expand the size of the overall human growth hormone treatment market and to largely cannibalize much of the estimated current $3B once-daily HGh marketplace over time.