Exelixis ruling ‘clear positive,’ but ‘short of a home run, says Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley raised the firm’s price target on Exelixis to $30 from $28 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares after the judge issued a ruling this morning in the ANDA case between Exelixis and MSN Laboratories, finding that the Malate Salt patents are not invalid, but that the pharmaceutical composition patent is not infringed. The ruling is “short of a home run scenario” that could have provided patent protection until 2032, but still “a clear positive” with Cabometyx patent protection until 2030, the analyst tells investors.