Bristol-Myers Squibb drops 2.5% as Leerink downgrades

Bristol-Myers Squibb shares dropped 2.5% in premarket trading on Monday after Leerink Partners downgraded the drugmaker from Outperform to Market Perform. Alongside the rating cut, Leerink reduced its price target on the stock to $59 from $73.

Analyst David Risinger pointed to skepticism regarding clinical readouts scheduled over the next several months. The firm stated that it lacked the conviction required to recommend purchasing the shares ahead of those results.

Leerink highlighted clinical and commercial risks across three key late-stage candidates. The firm warned that Phase 3 results for admilparant, a treatment for fibrotic disease, could disappoint on efficacy or safety. Leerink also questioned the efficacy of the novel blood thinner milvexian against Bristol-Myers Squibb's own Eliquis in atrial fibrillation trials.

For the antipsychotic Cobenfy, Risinger noted that provider reliance on generic treatments could limit commercial adoption in Alzheimer's disease psychosis even if Phase 3 trials succeed. These doubts emerge as the company seeks new revenue sources to counter patent expirations on its older therapies.