UniQure down after hemophilia gene therapy deal, dashing takeover hopes

Investors appear disappointed with uniQure’s (NASDAQ:QURE) agreement with CSL Behring for global rights to its gene therapy for hemophilia B valued as much as ~$2.1B, taking a valuable asset off the table and greatly diminishing its allure to prospective suitors.

For what it’s worth, certain sell-side analysts have followed suit with downgrades.

Baird’s Madhu Kumar: Neutral from Outperform with $58 (from $80) price target. Deal “dampens” our enthusiasm. Data on Huntington’s candidate AMT-130 not expected until next year.

Wells Fargo: Equal Weight from Overweight. Price target cut to $56 from $90.

SunTrust’s Robyn Karnauskas is shrugging off the implications of the deal, maintaining her Buy rating and $90 price target, saying the deal “pushes out” M&A until “we get color” in on AMT-130.

Shares down 16% premarket on light volume.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3586056-uniqure-down-after-hemophilia-gene-therapy-deal-dashing-takeover-hopes