BioMarin Pharma rises on BMO upgrade to outperform

BioMarin Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:) shares rose 2.5% on Wednesday after BMO analysts lifted the rating to Outperform from Market Perform as they see an attractive valuation at current levels.

“We believe that our thesis of a (s)low Roctavian uptake is materializing, as reflected in Roctavian’s slow EU launch and FDA label restrictions. However, at this valuation (-25% since we initiated coverage), we believe that Roctavian constitutes an upside opportunity as it’s largely not priced in,” they said in a note.

Last week, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Roctavian gene therapy for the treatment of adults with severe hemophilia A. The analysts see Roctavian’s “uptake to be (s)lower than consensus expectations.”

“We expect Biomarin’s base business to provide downside protection while positive updates around Voxzogo growth and Roctavian dosing will drive upside. Therefore, we think BMRN’s risk/reward is now skewed to the upside and upgrade BMRN to Outperform,” the analysts concluded.

The stock target remains $102 per share.