Morgan Stanley Reiterates Equal-Weight on Myriad Genetics

Morgan Stanley reiterated its Equal-weight rating on Myriad Genetics MYGN. In a research report published today, Morgan Stanley decided to leave its rating unchanged in spite of the company's ambition to expand into the European market in 2012. In the report, Morgan Stanley states, "Myriad's plan to enter Europe in FY12 is management's first major strategic initiative since the pharma spin-out in 2009, and consensus currently implies little contribution from Europe. Once patent and reimbursement clarity emerges, Europe holds underappreciated importance as the first test of Myriad's channel and infrastructure as competitive barriers in the absence of strong patents, the key long-term valuation debate for MYGN. Our small April 2011 AlphaWise survey of 17 European BRCA testing labs (~50% in Myriad's target countries) and market analysis suggest the opportunity is real but will take several years to become a material driver, not enough to change our thesis on the stock." At the moment, Morgan Stanley does not have a price target on Myriad. On Wednesday, Myriad added 2.98% to its value to close the day at $24.89.