Stifel bullish on orexin, upgrades Alkermes to Buy

Stifel upgraded Alkermes (ALKS) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $36, up from $25. After a deep dive on the orexin space, the firm says it has become “very confident” that ALKS2680 should succeed and be differentiated from Takeda’s (TAK) TAK-861 in NT1 and “more optimistic” that ALKS2680 can succeed in NT2 and possibly IH, where TAK-861 failed, the analyst tells investors. The firm is also “more comfortable, even if still a little worried,” around safety and “visual disturbances” and confident that the market opportunity for orexins is very large and that there’s room for multiple players, the analyst added.