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Investing.com - RBC Capital downgraded Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NTLA) from Outperform to Sector Perform and lowered its price target to $14.00 from $21.00 following a second case of liver toxicity in a clinical trial patient. The stock, which has shown significant volatility with a beta of 2.38, currently trades below its Fair Value according to InvestingPro analysis. Despite recent challenges, the company maintains a strong liquidity position with a current ratio of 5.19.
The downgrade comes after Intellia reported a severe case of liver toxicity where a patient experienced abdominal pain, required hospitalization, and showed serum levels qualifying for Hy’s Law with elevated liver enzymes and bilirubin. This incident triggered a protocol-specified pause on patient dosing and screening in the trial. InvestingPro subscribers can access 13 additional key insights about NTLA, including detailed financial health metrics and comprehensive analysis in the Pro Research Report.
This second toxicity case follows an initial, less severe incident reported in May where a patient experienced asymptomatic grade 4 ALT/AST elevation that resolved without medical intervention or hospitalization. The most recent case was reported on Friday, and the situation remains fluid.
RBC Capital expressed skepticism about Intellia’s argument that the safety issue is specific to the target gene rather than the platform, noting that other companies including ALNY and IONS have a history of safely targeting the same gene, albeit with different mechanisms of action.
The investment firm cited an unfavorable shift in the risk/benefit profile for Intellia’s approach, particularly given the availability of safe clinical alternatives from competitors including Pfizer, Alnylam, BridgeBio, and AstraZeneca/Ionis in the same indication.
In other recent news, Intellia Therapeutics has paused patient dosing and screening in two Phase 3 clinical trials of its CRISPR-based gene therapy, nex-z, due to a serious adverse event. This decision follows a patient in the MAGNITUDE trial for transthyretin amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) experiencing Grade 4 liver transaminases and increased total bilirubin, leading to hospitalization. In response to these safety concerns, Bernstein downgraded Intellia’s stock rating from Outperform to Market Perform, while slightly raising the price target to $14.50. Oppenheimer also adjusted its price target, reducing it to $33.00 from $40.00, but maintained an Outperform rating. Similarly, BofA Securities lowered its price target to $30.00 from $36.00, keeping a Buy rating. Despite these challenges, Citizens upgraded Intellia’s stock rating to Market Outperform, citing a strong outlook for the company’s hereditary angioedema (HAE) opportunity. This upgrade was based on survey results indicating enthusiasm for a once-and-done therapy approach. These developments reflect the ongoing adjustments in analyst perspectives following recent clinical trial updates.
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