Piper surprised by Intellia selloff, says data ‘checks all boxes’

Piper Sandler analyst Swapnil Malekar says that in line with his expectations, Intellia Therapeutics’ NTLA-2002 produced a “robust” kallikrein inhibition in range of 65%-92%, leading to 91% attack rate reduction in the lower dose. Given that 75mg led to 92% kallikrein reduction, Malekar believes in the possibility of potential “zero attack” rates. He’s surprised to see the stock selloff today and believes it could be due to confusion around the introduction of 50mg dose group, “potentially raising safety concerns in the high dose cohort.” The stock in midday trading is down 6% to $64.66. The analyst highlights, however, that the drug is “overall well-tolerated and the exploration of lower fixed dose should have no implication on the safety.” Malekar keeps an Overweight rating on Intellia Therapeutics with a $163 price target. He says the NTLA-2002 data “checks all boxes” in hereditary angioedema.