Why This Prelude Therapeutics Analyst Disagrees With 2 Others And Downgraded The Stock

Shares of Prelude Therapeutics Inc PRLD came under pressure during early trading on Monday.

The company’s decision to discontinue internal development of the PRMT5 program (PRT811) results in uncertainty around the way forward, according to BofA Securities.

The Prelude Therapeutics Analyst: Tazeen Ahmad downgraded the rating for Prelude Therapeutics from Neutral to Underperform, while reducing the price target from $8 to $6.

The Prelude Therapeutics Thesis: While the company has many more assets in clinical trials, these are in the early stages of development and “being evaluated across multiple solid and liquid tumor indications,” Ahmad said in the downgrade note.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

“While some preclinical and clinical validation is available for the new targets (CDK9, MCL1, SMARCA2), it is unclear what the market opportunity will be for these assets given the lack of a lead indication,” the analyst wrote.

“In our view, there is significant uncertainty about the efficacy and safety profile due to the lack of clinical validation,” he added.

Meanwhile, Benzinga's analyst ratings data finds that two other analysts disagree with Ahmad, the stock has a consensus Buy rating.

PRLD Price Action: Shares of Prelude Therapeutics had declined by 3.90% to $7.15 at the time of publication Monday.

Now Read: After Bill Gates Dumps Billions In Berkshire To Buy Microsoft, His Quiet Biotech Portfolio Has Made A New Trade