Boston, MA 06/16/2014 (wallstreetpr) – The massive price target hike on the stock of Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN) appears to be a game-changer in the shares of the company. Investors are clearly jostling for a position in the company not just because of the huge price target increase but on the basis of the reason behind of the big hike.
Maxim Group has more than tripled the price target that it previously had on the stock. From $6 per share, the rating firm now expects shares of the company to touch $22 per share in the latest note. The firm maintains a “buy” rating on the stock of Achillion (NASDAQ:ACHN).
The note by Maxim is the most bullish sentiment yet on Achillion in recent weeks. Last week saw the company receive an “outperform” recommendation from analysts at Robert W. Baird who boosted their view on the stock from a “neutral” rating in the previous note. The analysts hoisted their price target on the stock to $12 per share, up from $4 in the previous note.
Although Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN) carries a consensus “hold” rating and average price target of $7.71, the recent sentiments on the stock appear to hinged on the prospects of the treatments the company is developing.
Promising pipeline
According to Jason Kolbert, the Maxim analyst who led the hiking of the price target on Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN) in the latest note from the rating firm, the company is likely to benefit from all its three hepatitis C drug candidates. The drugs are geared towards creating a treatment regimen that can tackle all the genotypes of the virus in matter of four weeks. That will exceed the performance of existing treatments from providers such as Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD), which takes 12 weeks to cure the condition.
Acquisition target
In view of the promising product pipeline and following the deal by Merck & Co., Inc (NYSE:MRK) to purchase Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:IDIX), Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN) is also seen as an appealing acquisition target and such an opportunity could lead to massive benefit for the shareholders.
