BofA Downgrades Ionis After Vupanorsen Setback: Are There Upcoming Catalysts That Can Help The Stock?

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc IONS announced on Monday the discontinuation of the Vupanorsen clinical development program. Following this, there are no high-impact catalysts for the next 12 months that could unlock value, according to BofA Securities.

The Ionis Pharmaceuticals Analyst: Jason Gerberry downgraded the rating for Ionis Pharmaceuticals from Buy to Underperform, while reducing the price target from $40 to $30.

The Ionis Pharmaceuticals Thesis: The current valuation of the stock still reflects around $2 billion for programs other than Spinraza, where “the company has struggled to unlock value,” Gerberry said in the downgrade note.

“IONS is near Ph3 readout of Eplontersen in TTR-PN (mid-year), but we believe PN Ph3 success is largely priced in and PN is a relatively small market + encumbered economics, limiting upside potential,” the analyst wrote.

“While we acknowledge IONS’ continuous effort to improve its ASO platform to improve candidates’ efficacy/safety and pursue novel targets to address unmet needs, we find it difficult to have high conviction on de-risking potential of mid-stage readouts following pipeline setbacks last 12 months (e.g., HD, ENaC, ANG3) plus the next wave of key Ph3 readouts are further out in 2024E (TTR-CM, HAE, sHTG),” he added.

IONS Price Action: Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals had declined by 1.48% to $31.33 at the time of publication Tuesday morning.

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