Stifel Says Acorda Therapeutics Decline Is 'A Buying Opportunity'

Stifel commented on Acorda Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: ACOR) Wednesday after the stock fell from approximately $40 to $36 Tuesday afternoon.

Analyst Thomas Shrader noted that the stock may have been impacted by a legal attack on a patent covering Ampyra, and the CEO telling a crowd at “BIOCEO that the rHIgM22 Phase I trial was not powered or designed to demonstrate efficacy.”

Shrader concluded that the price action was the result of “investor unfamiliarity with the IPR mechanism and represents a buying opportunity.

“At about 2:00, the Coalition for Affordable drugs (CFAD) filed a petition (IPR2015-00720) for an Inter Partes Review (IPR is legalese but not misspelled) with the USPTO that attacked the validity of claims in one of five patents that covers Ampyra (these patents are listed in the ‘Orange Book’ where the FDA lists active patents relevant to approved drugs),” according to Shrader.

An IPR was described in the analyst note as “a proceeding that allows third parties (essentially anyone) to contest the validity of granted patents with evidence based on prior art or printed publications.”

Shrader did not think the challenge would be successful and said the event is “unlikely to hurt Acorda.”

The firm maintained a Buy rating on the stock and a $47 price target.

Acorda Therapeutics Inc closed at $36.89 Wednesday, up 2.30 percent.