JP Morgan says sell AstraZeneca

14th Mar 2014 14:58

Investors in AstraZeneca have been waiting seven years for the company's 15.6bn dollar purchase of US outfit Medimmune in 2007 to pan out and they may have longer to wait. Some things may just not be worth waiting for, as JP Morgan explained to clients, according to the Financial Times.Shares of the British pharmaceuticals group have risen by 25% over the last six months on renewed optimism that Medimmune may soon receive regulatory approval for its immune-oncology medication. At its peak, the market for that class of products may be worth $13bn annually.Unfortunately, approval may not come until 2017. That means that Astra's slice of the pie might be limited to just $2.5bn - assuming it receives approval. Given that others might beat it to the prize, the broker advised clients to sell setting a price target of 3,800p.Shares of the company fell by 0.6% to 39.79p. AB