MARKET TALK: Jefferies Upgrades AstraZeneca To Hold

30th Jun 2010 07:52

0652 GMT [Dow Jones] Jefferies International upgrades AstraZeneca (AZN.LN) to hold from underperform and boosts target price to 2850p from 2550p. This comes after AstraZeneca prevails in its U.S. legal challenge against numerous companies that sought to market generic versions of Crestor prior to its patent expiry in 2016. The ruling was widely expected to have occurred by the end of July, says Jefferies. Adds that a positive share price reaction is to be expected given the significant overhang. However, "we expect that the generics companies will appeal the decision, which is somewhat controversial in our view and that this overhang could revisit the shares in the mid-term." Shares closed at 2947p. ([email protected]) Contact us in London. +44-20-7842-9464 [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 30, 2010 02:52 ET (06:52 GMT)