Guggenheim downgrades Q32 Bio to 'neutral' as dermatitis drug fails in part of study

Q32 Bio

12/12/2024 19:05

** Guggenheim downgrades drug developer Q32 Bio  QTTB.O  to
"neutral" from "buy"
    ** Brokerage removes PT; previous PT was $100
    ** Co's experimental drug, bempikibart, failed to meet main
goal in part of mid-stage trial studying it in patients with
atopic dermatitis 
    ** Co announced trial results after market close on Tuesday,
sending shares down ~75% on Wednesday
    ** Shares down ~25% at record low of $4.45 on Thursday
    ** QTTB plans to move forward with bempikibart for patients
with alopecia areata (AA), an autoimmune disease that causes
hair loss in patches
    ** Co says bempikibart showed improvement in patients with
AA in separate trial
    ** Brokerage says while signal in AA is encouraging, the
trial "barely worked" and overall data is significantly below
expectations
    ** Sees limited hope for applicability of the study for AA
based on totality of data
    ** Four of seven brokerages rate stock "buy" or higher,
three "hold"; their median PT is $20
    ** Including session's moves, stock down 59% YTD

 (Reporting by Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru)
 ((Neil.JKanatt@thomsonreuters.com;))