Analysts Weigh In: Regado Future 'Unclear' As Shares Fall Below Cash Value

Regado Biosciences (NASDAQ: RGDO) plunged after safety concerns permanently halted trials on its lead drug candidate for preventing complications from angioplasty surgery.

Deutsche Bank's Robyn Karnauskas downgraded the shares to Hold from Buy and slashed her target 87 percent to $2, from $14.

Karnauskas' current target is little more than the $1.80 a share she calculates the company's current cash is worth.

Regado raised $57.5 million in a public offering in April and had $72.7 million on hand June 30, compared with $30.7 million at Dec. 31.

An independent safety panel halted the Revolixys study Monday, citing serious allergic reactions among the 3,250 patients enrolled in what was intended to be a 13,200-patient trial.

The company suspended the trial on July 3 pending a safety review and its shares fell 58 percent in a day. Shares fell a further seven percent a few days later when regulators put a clinical hold on the study.

With the drug called Revolixys now in deep jeopardy, the future of Regado is "unclear," according to Needham's Chad Messer, who noted the remainder of the company's product pipeline has yet to reach clinical studies.

Regado now needs to rethink its overall strategy and re-engineer its product pipeline Wedbush Securities Liana Moussatos told Reuters.