MM Curator summary
[ MM Curator Summary]: Hopes are fading for Aduhelm backers.
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Shares of Biogen Inc. fell nearly 10% in premarket trading Wednesday after Medicare officials indicated they plan to limit coverage of the company’s Alzheimer’s disease drug Aduhelm, prompting several Wall Street analysts to cut their views on the company.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid said in a proposed policy that they would cover Aduhelm on the condition that patients are in clinical trials and have early-stage symptoms.
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Analysts at Stifel called the proposal, which is subject to a final decision due in April, a “big blow” to Aduhelm that means the drug won’t be a meaningful revenue driver for the foreseeable future.
Mizuho analysts, who have a neutral rating on Biogen shares, cut their price target on the stock to $207 from $270 after removing nearly all Aduhelm sales from their model. Analysts at Piper Sandler downgraded Biogen shares to neutral from overweight and reduced their price target to $216 from $362, while analysts at Needham cut their target to $292 from $328.
Biogen shares rose as high as $468.55 on June 7 after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of Aduhelm, the first new Alzheimer’s drug in nearly two decades, but the stock fell back amid pricing issues with the drug and ended last year at $239.32, below its 2020 closing price of $244.86.
In premarket trading Wednesday, Biogen shares were down 9.3% to $219.23.
Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com