What Analysts Are Saying After Spark Therapeutics Q2 Report

Spark Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: ONCE) took a massive hit on Tuesday that wiped out about 28% of the share price. This came in the wake of the second-quarter earnings report but really had more to do with its recent midstage hemophilia study. With this devastating blow, analysts are reeling as well, chopping their price targets as fast as they can.

24/7 Wall St. has included some brief highlights from the report, as well as what analysts have to say about the stock after the fact.

The company said that it had $2.07 in earnings per share and $25.2 million in revenue. The consensus estimates had called for a net loss of $0.43 per share and $29.4 million in revenue.

In the hemophilia Phase 1/2 trial, two out of the 12 patients had a concerning immune response, and ultimately one of the patients was hospitalized as a result.

In these two patients, the clotting factor levels dropped and they had to be given on-demand treatment. The one patient that did not respond rapidly to oral steroids had to receive intravenous infusions in the hospital, which is considered a serious safety issue.

Separately, seven of the 12 patients in the trial required a course of oral steroids because of various symptoms.

Here’s what analysts said in the aftermath:

• Barclays cut its price target to $77 from $85.
• BMO downgraded it to Market Perform from Outperform and cut the target to $60 from $98
• Citigroup upgraded it to a Buy rating from Neutral.
• Mizuho cut its price target to $77 from $91.
• Stifel cut its price target to $68 from $76.
• SunTrust Robinson cut the price target to $61 from $102.

Shares of Spark were last seen up about 3.2% at $57.80, with a consensus analyst price target of $72.55 and a 52-week trading range of $41.06 to $96.59.

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