Kitov Pharmaceuticals price target raised to $12.50 from $10 at H.C. Wainwright. H.C. Wainwright analyst Raghuram Selvaraju raised his price target for Kitov Pharmaceuticals to $12.50 after the FDA approved Consensi “on schedule.” The analyst reiterates a Buy rating on the shares.
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Sage started at buy by Ladenburg
Sage Therapeutics initiated with a Buy at Ladenburg. Ladenburg Thalmann analyst Michael Higgins started Sage Therapeutics with a Buy rating and $230 price target.
Marinus started at buy by Ladenburg
Marinus Pharmaceuticals initiated with a Buy at Ladenburg. Ladenburg Thalmann analyst Michael Higgins started Marinus Pharmaceuticals with a Buy rating and $20 price target.
Athenahealth to explore strategic alternatives, CEO steps down
Athenahealth Inc. ATHN, +4.17% said Wednesday it has begun exploring “strategic alternatives,” in which the hospital and ambulatory services company will consider a sale, merger or other transaction. The stock is currently halted for news. The company said Chief Executive Jonathan Bush has stepped down from his role, which he has held since co-founded the company in 1997, effective immediately. The New York Post reported last week that sexual harassment claims against Bush were settled in 2009. The company said Jeff Immelt, who was CEO of General Electric Co. GE, -1.16% from 2001 to 2017, was appointed executive chairman. The company said it has initiated a search for a new CEO. Also in May, Elliott Management said it planned to buy the company in a deal valued at about $7 billion. The stock is set to resume trade at 9:50 a.m. ET. It has run up 13.6% year to date through Tuesday, while the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF XLV, +1.13% has edged up 1.0% and the S&P 500 SPX, +0.86% has gained 2.8%.
DaVita started at buy by Blair
DaVita assumed with an Outperform at William Blair. William Blair analyst Matt Larew assumed coverage of DaVita from Margaret Kaczor and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The company’s renewed focus on execution within the kidney care business will provide more predictable results in the United States, while the international business should become profitable in 2018 and beyond, Larew tells investors in a research note.
Ironwood gets FDA orphan status for sickle cell med
The FDA granted Ironwood Pharmaceuticals orphan status for olinciguat, its treatment of sickle cell disease.
Investors pour back into Nektar after selloff
Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) rose as much as 17% today as investors poured back into the biopharma stock following a sharp sell-off earlier this week. The huge drop days ago was caused by a disappointing weekend presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting, in which the company shared preliminary data on an important ongoing program evaluating a combination of drug candidate NKTR-214 with Opdivo from Bristol-Myers Squibb to treat various solid tumor cancers.
Today, investors are simply betting that the more than 40% stumble was overdone. The argument isn’t entirely invalid. While Nektar Therapeutics saw its market cap shoot up from less than $4 billion this time last year to over $16 billion in April, the biopharma is far from a one-trick pony.
As of 3:35 p.m. EDT, the stock had settled to a 8.2% gain.
The ASCO presentation was just the latest reminder that incredible results from small trials should be viewed with cautious optimism (and probably more caution than optimism). Nektar Therapeutics showed that the efficacy of the NKTR-214 and Opdivo combination didn’t hold up from smaller, earlier studies.
At the previous study checkpoint, 11 of 13 melanoma patients showed a response to the combo. But at the latest check-in, only 14 of 28 patients responded to treatment. A similar slide in efficacy was uncovered in kidney cancer, which previously demonstrated responses in seven of 11 patients, compared to only 12 of 26 most recently.
Considering the study is now partnered with Bristol-Myers Squibb, which handed over $1.85 billion in February and lucrative royalty rights should the combo gain marketing approval, investors became worried the therapy may not be destined to become a blockbuster product.
While the most recent results are deflating, Nektar Therapeutics has quite a few shots on goal. That includes four separate drug candidates in trials further along than the NKTR-214 combo, and several other trials investigating NKTR-214 as part of a combination with other oncology drugs and as a stand-alone treatment. And, of course, the company has the $1.85 billion from Bristol-Myers Squibb no matter what, which can fund pipeline development for about two years at the current cash burn rate.
Bounces like the one Nektar Therapeutics is experiencing today are pretty commonplace for biopharma stocks that encounter major sell-offs. Does it prove that the drop was overdone? Well, it’s true that the pipeline has a healthy amount of potential. But it’s also true that the current $10 billion market cap could prove difficult to justify right now. Investors should expect volatility to continue for the foreseeable future, and simply have to await further clinical updates coming down the pipe in the next several quarters.
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