Elan has had a truly dismal time on the markets since it emerged that next year's earnings would be affected by a delay in the launch of a migraine drug for which Elan had the US rights. Its shares fell like a stone on that revelation and even an unprecedented move to reassure the market by stating that it knew of no reason for the price fall and was comfortable with analyst forecasts failed to halt the decline.

After hitting $21 1/4 (€20.60) this week, however, there are signs of a tentative recovery and now Deutsche Bank's Alex Brown has rowed to support the beleaguered Elan share with a "buy" recommendation and a $30 price target. That rating compensates a bit for the earlier downgrade from "top pick" to just a "buy" from DLJ.