Pharmasset (Nasdaq:VRUS) Pipeline Still in Early Stages

Baird said they continue to recommend shares of Pharmasset (Nasdaq:VRUS), although it must be understood they they're still in the early stage of developing their pipeline.

Baird said, "Continue to recommend purchase on confirmatory FQ4-10 update. There were a few bits of incremental progress, in line with expectations and likely not stock-moving. We view Phase 2 data rollout as the best value-creating period to invest in Hepatitis C companies, and it’s still early innings there when considering VRUS’s full pipeline. The thesis is fully intact, catalyst flow is robust, and VRUS is likely to remain a top small-/emerging mid-cap idea heading into 2011."

For full year 2011, EPS was lowered from -$1.99 to -$2.15 and for full year 2012 from -$1.65 to -$2.10.

Pharmasset closed Wednesday at $43.59, gaining $1.41, or 3.34 percent.