Piper Jaffray Overweight On Somaxon Pharmaceuticals (SOMX)

Piper Jaffray has an Overweight rating and a $7 price target on shares of Somaxon Pharmaceuticals SOMX. In a note sent to clients, Piper Jaffray writes, "Yesterday, Somaxon announced that it received notice of an abbreviated NDA (aNDA) filing under paragraph IV (PIV) for a generic version of Silenor from Par Pharmaceuticals. We are not surprised by the filing, particularly given that PIV filings by Mylan and Actavis are also pending. We believe that SOMX shares are reflecting muted Silenor expectations as well as generic competition starting by May 2013 (when the first 30-month stay periods expire). That said, we continue to believe that the key Silenor patent expiring in February 2020 will hold, and further believe that 2012 sales in excess of $150M (and 2012 cash from operations approaching $50M) are achievable, translating into an attractive risk/reward profile for SOMX. We reiterate our Overweight rating and $7 price target." Shares of SOMX lost 4 cents yesterday to close at $3.15.