ANALYSIS-Wyeth may be dead money after Alzheimer's setback

By Lewis Krauskopf

NEW YORK, July 30 (Reuters) - Wyeth WYE.N shares may be slow to recover after crashing near a four-year low on Wednesday following disappointing data for its experimental Alzheimer's disease drug.

With enthusiasm now muted for the U.S. drugmaker's most important experimental product -- the Alzheimer's medicine bapineuzumab -- investors may turn their attention to Wyeth's daunting growth outlook, as the company grapples with patent expirations plaguing the entire sector.

Generic competition to top medicines through 2010 threatens up to 40 percent of Wyeth's earnings, according to Deutsche Bank.

Although Wyeth's potential as a takeover target could buoy the stock, analysts see few events in the near future that would excite investors.

"I think it's kind of at best probably dead money just because the earnings profile through the end of the decade is not very interesting," said Deutsche Bank analyst Barbara Ryan.

"The major shot on goal in terms of the pipeline is bapineuzumab, and obviously we're not going to get any new information on that for quite a long time."

Indeed, 10 analysts have the equivalent of "hold" ratings on Wyeth shares, with one "sell" rating, compared with only five "buys," according to Thomson data.

Citigroup analyst John Boris cut his rating on Wyeth shares to "sell" from "hold" on Wednesday. Boris said bapineuzumab was now unlikely to succeed, while other negative catalysts loom, including possible slow adoption of new Wyeth products.