AZN - Ionis Pharma upgraded at Citi after quarterly update

2023-05-04 10:49:30 ET

Ionis Pharmaceuticals ( NASDAQ: IONS ) traded flat on Thursday after Citi upgraded the developer of RNA-targeted therapeutics to Neutral from Sell following the company's better-than-expected Q1 2023 results.

Carlsbad, California-based biotech reported $131M revenue for the quarter on Wednesday despite a ~8% YoY decline in the topline driven by ~7% YoY drop in revenue from its spinal muscular atrophy therapy Spinraza marketed with Biogen ( BIIB ).

The Q1 2023 update indicated the company's hope to win U.S. approval for eplontersen by December. AstraZeneca ( AZN )-partnered rare-disease therapy is currently under the FDA review for polyneuropathy caused by hereditary TTR amyloidosis (ATTRv-PN).

Citi analysts argue that despite a modest year-over-year decline, Spinraza royalties for the period were in line with the consensus.

Noting that "ATTR opportunity remains key" for ION's future, the firm opines that eplontersen is approvable despite a lack of clarity over its commercial prospects given the high standards set by Amvuttra, a rival therapy for ATTR-PN from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals ( ALNY ).

Citing a balanced risk-reward setup, Citi upgrades the stock and raises its price target to $36 from $30 per share.

More on Ionis

• Ionis, AstraZeneca's eplontersen meets goals in phase 3 ATTRv-PN trial
• Ionis: Late Stage Trials Bump Expenses - Revenues Lag

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