Canaccord analyst Jason Mills raised his price target on CryoLife to $36 from $28 following its beat and raise Q2 results. The analyst noted its solid execution and improving underlying business trends. He also noted its acquisitions are tracking ahead of plan. Mills reiterated his Buy rating on CryoLife shares.
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
Arrowhead price target raised to $18 from $13 at Cantor Fitzgerald
Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Elemer Piros raised his price target for Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals to $18 saying the company’s TRiM candidates are “moving impressively quick.” The analyst is “very encouraged” that, in less than two years, Arrowhead began developing the TRiM platform and will have substantial data by November. He reiterates an Overweight rating on the shares following the company’s Q3 results.
Addus HomeCare price target raised to $72 from $59 at Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer analyst Michael Wiederhorn raised his price target for Addus HomeCare to $72 from $59 following quarterly results to reflect the industry multiples in the space. The analyst reiterates an Outperform rating on the shares.
Enanta downgraded to Perform on hep C headwinds at Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer analyst Jay Olson downgraded Enanta to Perform from Outperform following quarterly results and in the face of HCV headwinds. The analyst lowered his price target on the shares to $100 from $135.
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
Market, Policy Trends Shift To Illumina’s Favor: Morgan Stanley Upgrade
The bearish case for Illumina, Inc. ILMN 1.44% has come to an end for four key reasons, according to Morgan Stanley.
The Analyst
Analyst Steve Beuchaw upgraded Illumina from Underweight to Equal-weight with a price target lifted from $210 to $320.
The Thesis
Illumina stands to benefit from multiple market developments and policy changes, Beuchaw said in the upgrade note. (See the analyst’s track record here.)
They are:
- The success of DNA-driven drug administration, which prompted the FDA’s support of DNA-based companion cancer diagnostics and expansion of Medicare reimbursements.
- Government funding for DNA analysis could expand globally.
- Consumer interest in DNA-derived applications.
- A global mix shift toward genomic research.
Morgan Stanley’s prior bear thesis on Illumina now appears “flawed,” but a bullish stance on the stock can’t yet be made for the following reasons, Beuchaw said:
- The stock’s more than 50-percent return since the start of 2018 implies it is trading at a 17-percent premium to its 10-year historical multiple.
- Expectations for NovaSeq to see a growth deceleration in the third year of its cycle in 2019.
- Any timeline for favorable reimbursement changes are difficult to model.
- Competition could intensify.
Illumina’s longer-term market opportunity is “undeniable,” but its valuation is stretched at current levels, according to Morgan Stanley.
Eye conditions provide new lens screening for Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease is difficult to diagnose as well as treat, but researchers now have a promising new screening tool using the window to the brain: the eye.
A study of 3,877 randomly selected patients found a significant link between three degenerative eye diseases—age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma—and Alzheimer’ disease.
The results offer physicians a new way to detect those at higher risk of this disorder, which causes memory loss and other symptoms of cognitive decline. .
The researchers, from the University of Washington School of Medicine, the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Institute and the UW School of Nursing, reported their findings Aug. 8 in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.
“We don’t mean people with these eye conditions will get Alzheimer’s disease,” said lead researcher Dr. Cecilia Lee, assistant professor of ophthalmology at the UW School of Medicine. “The main message from this study is that ophthalmologists should be more aware of the risks of developing dementia for people with these eye conditions and primary care doctors seeing patients with these eye conditions might be more careful on checking on possible dementia or memory loss.”
The participants in the study were age 65 and older and did not have Alzheimer’s disease at the time of enrollment. They were part of the Adult Changes in Thought database started in 1994 by Dr. Eric Larson, who is at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute. Over the five-year study, 792 cases of Alzheimer’s disease were diagnosed by a committee of dementia experts. Patients with age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, or glaucoma were at 40 % to 50% greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease compared to similar people without these eye conditions. Cataract diagnosis was not an Alzheimer’s disease risk factor.
“What we found was not subtle,” said Dr. Paul Crane, professor of medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, at the UW School of Medicine. “This study solidifies that there are mechanistic things we can learn from the brain by looking at the eye.”
More than 46 million older adults are affected by dementia worldwide and 131.5 million cases are expected by 2050, the researchers said. Alzheimer’ disease is the most common dementia,and discovering risk factors may lead to early detection and preventive measures, they said in their paper.
Lee said anything happening in the eye may relate to what’s happening in the brain, an extension of the central nervous system. The possible connections need more study. She said a better understanding of neurodegeneration in the eye and the brain could bring more success in diagnosing Alzheimer’s early and developing better treatments.
The researchers said several factors suggest the effects they uncovered were specific to ophthalmic conditions and not merely age-related phenomenon.
Larson said for years Alzheimer’s researchers were focused on amyloid buildup in brain tissue, but that hasn’t brought much benefit to patients.
“This paper is pointing to a new area of opportunity,” he said.
Bioengineers use magnetic force to manage pain
UCLA bioengineers have demonstrated that a gel-like material containing tiny magnetic particles could be used to manage chronic pain from disease or injury. Broadly, the study demonstrates the promising use of biomechanical forces that push and pull on cells to treat disease.
“Much of mainstream modern medicine centers on using pharmaceuticals to make chemical or molecular changes inside the body to treat disease,” said Dino Di Carlo, UCLA professor of bioengineering and the principal investigator of the study. “However, recent breakthroughs in the control of forces at small scales have opened up a new treatment idea—using physical force to kick-start helpful changes inside cells. There’s a long way to go, but this early work shows this path toward so-called ‘mechanoceuticals’ is a promising one.”
The researchers used small magnetic particles inside a gel to control cell proteins that respond to mechanical stimulation, and which control the flow of certain ions. These proteins are on the cell’s membrane and play a role in the sensations of touch and pain. The study was published in Advanced Materials.
“Our results show that through exploiting ‘neural network homeostasis,’ which is the idea of returning a biological system to a stable state, it is possible to lessen the signals of pain through the nervous system,” said Andy Kah Ping Tay, a recent UCLA doctoral graduate who was the lead author of the study. “Ultimately, this could lead to new ways to provide therapeutic pain relief.”
To make the magnetized gel, they started with a polymer, hyaluronic acid, a gel-like material found naturally in the spinal cord and the brain, which helps provide structural support to cells in those parts of the body. The material is also produced artificially and used in cosmetics and beauty products as a filler and moisture barrier.
The researchers put tiny magnetic particles into the biocompatible gel. Next, they grew a type of primary neural cell—dorsal root ganglion neurons—in the gel.
In laboratory tests, they applied a magnetic field to generate a “pulling” force on the particles, which was transmitted through the gel to the embedded cells.
The researchers found that the magnetically induced mechanical forces led to an increase in calcium ions in the neurons. This influx of ions indicates that the neurons responded to the forces. By increasing the force steadily over time, the researchers found that the neurons adapted to the continuous stimulation by reducing the signals for pain.
In the study, the team suggested that the magnetic gel could be tailored with different biomaterials for therapies for cardiac and muscle disorders. These types of biomaterials could also be used in scientific studies to emulate concussions or other traumatic events where cells in the body are impacted by significant physical forces.
Tay is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University. He will start a faculty appointment at National University of Singapore next year.
Other study authors include UCLA graduate student Ali Sohrabi; Stephanie Seidlits, a UCLA assistant professor of bioengineering; and Kate Poole of the University of New South Wales in Australia.
The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health. Tay was supported at UCLA by a fellowship from the International Brain Research Organization; and the Endeavour Research Fellowship from the Australian government’s Department of Education and Training.
More information: Andy Tay et al, A 3D Magnetic Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogel for Magnetomechanical Neuromodulation of Primary Dorsal Root Ganglion Neurons, Advanced Materials (2018). DOI: 10.1002/adma.201800927
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