Bergen Brunswig’s Shares Hit Yearly High, Up 63 Cents

Bergen Brunswig Corp.’s stock climbed to a 52-week high Thursday after Goldman Sachs & Co. elevated its 12-month projection for the shares.

Shares of the Orange-based pharmaceuticals distributor traded as high as $14.94 before closing at $14.75, up 63 cents, on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has gained more than 77% this year.

Goldman Sachs raised its 12-month price target on the stock to $20 a share from $15.

The firm’s Christopher McFadden said the shares, which have risen more than 40% since September, should extend their gains “as investors anticipate the selection of a new (chief executive), demonstration of improved fundamentals and a reduction of borrowing costs.”

Earlier this month, Bergen said it had reduced its debt to $1.09 billion in its fiscal fourth quarter, down 29% from a year earlier.

Bergen Brunswig has been searching for a chief executive since it fired Donald R. Roden in November 1999 and named Robert E. Martini interim chief executive.