Broker snap: Crestor verdict removes Astra overhang

30th Jun 2010 11:43

Panmure Gordon has doffed its hat to AstraZeneca's legal eagles after the drugs giant's favourable verdict in a Delaware court on its CRESTOR patent."The company's impressive record in intellectual property litigation continues with a win on Crestor to accompany wins on Prilosec , Pulmicort respules , Seroquel and to an extent Nexium as well," writes Panmure analyst Savvas Neophytou.The generic drugs makers are almost certain to appeal against the decision but the presiding judge, Joseph Farnan, has handled a lot of patent cases and the broker does not expect him to have made any process errors that may invalidate the ruling. The verdict has removed a "significant overhang" from the share price and as a result Panmure has upped its price target from 3300p to 3600p."AstraZeneca remains a conviction buy and we expect the market to start focusing on how the company emerges from its trough year 2012 which could result in significant upgrades to consensus," Neophytou suggests.