Ariad Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ: ARIA) received a number of ratings updates from brokerages and research firms in the last week:

  • Ariad Pharmaceutical had its price target raised by analysts at Brean Murray from $19.00 to $35.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
  • Ariad Pharmaceutical had its price target raised by analysts at Summer Street from $21.00 to $34.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
  • Ariad Pharmaceutical had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Maxim Group. They now have a $28.00 price target on the stock. They wrote, “This morning ARIA hosted a conference call further explaining the phase I data (of an ongoing phase I/II trial) of AP26113 in NSCLC (non-small cell lung cancer) the company presented on Saturday, September 29, 2012 at the ESMO (European Society for Medical Oncology) meeting. AP26113 is ARIA’s second lead drug candidate. It is a dual kinase inhibitor against ALK (anaplastic lymphoma kinase) and EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor); the expression levels of the two kinases are 4% and 10%, respectively, in Western NSCLC population. Tarceva (erlotinib) and Xalkori (crizotinib) are already commercialized drugs against EGFR+ and ALK+ NSCLC, respectively.”
  • Ariad Pharmaceutical had its price target raised by analysts at Bank of America from $26.00 to $30.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. They wrote, “The first clinical data for ARIA’s ALK/EGFRm kinase inhibitor AP26113 (’113) were presented at the ESMO meeting over the weekend in patients with advanced refractory malignancies. While ’113 is in early stages of development, the response rates in patients with ALK+ non small cell lung cancer were striking (8/9 assessed patients achieved a partial response in 60mg+ dose cohorts), including patients naive and resistant to PFE’s first in class inhibitor Xalkori. Notably, one patient with active ALK+ brain metastases at baseline achieved significant tumor reduction while on treatment. There is preliminary evidence of ’113 activity in patients with mutated EGFR (1PR/6 assessed at 120mg+), but as expected, higher doses may be required to achieve clinically relevant activity. Tolerability to date is very good, with toxicities limited to gastrointestinal events and pneumonia, at rates that are possibly lower than Xalkori, but more data are needed to fully assess safety. Dose expansion at the 240 mg dose is ongoing and further dose escalation is possible. Based on these data we are increasing our PO from $26 to $30, to reflect increased probability of successful development of ’113 for ALK+ disease, with additional upside potential for validation of EGFRm activity.”
  • Ariad Pharmaceutical had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Jefferies Group. They now have a $28.00 price target on the stock.
  • Ariad Pharmaceutical had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at UBS AG.

Ariad Pharmaceutical opened at 24.73 on Tuesday. Ariad Pharmaceutical has a 1-year low of $9.59 and a 1-year high of $25.39. The company’s market cap is $4.110 billion.

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ARIAD) is biopharmaceutical company. As of December 31, 2011, the Company’s pipeline contains three product candidates: ponatinib, AP26113 and ridaforolimus.