Celgene's Stock Climbs After Analyst Upgrade

Celgene Corp.'s stock climbed 1.5% in premarket trade Thursday, after the biotechnology company was upgraded by J.P. Morgan analyst Cory Kasimov, who cited an "increasingly attractive valuation" and an impressive business development strategy. Kasimov raised his rating to overweight, after being at neutral for the last 17 months. "While a lack of obvious catalysts has previously kept us on the sidelines, we view [Celgene] as one of the most fundamentally sound biotechs that has done a nice job of addressing next decade revenue gaps through [business development]," Kasimov wrote in a note to clients. Kasimov has $152 price target on the stock, which is 41% above Wednesday's closing price of $108.17. The stock has lost 8.5% over the past three months, while iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF has shed 18% and the S&P 500 has dropped 7.6%.