Alkermes price target lowered to $43 from $45 at Needham

Needham lowered the firm’s price target on Alkermes (ALKS) to $43 from $45 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares following Phase 2 data from the Vibrance-1 study. The firm reduced aliorexton’s peak market share in narcolepsy type I by 10% to reflect its safety profile of blurred vision adverse events. The events may dissuade some physicians from using aliorexton as their first choice, especially in narcolepsy type I, given Takeda’s (TAK) first-to-market position, the analyst tells investors in a research note. However, Needham continues to see valuation upside for Alkermes, believing alixorexton can have meaningful market share.