Analyst Calls OvaScience Study 'Promising,' But Shares Sink

OvaScience Inc (NASDAQ: OVAS) shares were off nearly 6 percent Friday following a company conference call with analysts concerning its fertility treatment.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company changed hands recently at $44.49, down $3.80. The shares have gained more than 180 percent in the past six months.

Earlier on Thursday, OvaScience released updated results of a small study in Canada revealing 9 clinical pregnancies out of 17 embryo transfers. Women in the study were age 28 to 40 years and made between one and three previous failed in vitro fertilization attempts.

Related Link: Analyst: OvaScience's Volatility Reflects Investor Confusion

Ahead of the conference call, Oppenheimer's Rohit Vanjani called the data "promising" and reiterated an Outperform rating and a $60 price target.

Initial results of the study had been presented last week to a gathering of gynecologists, and Vanjani dismissed what he called "pushback from academics" about the study's validity.

The data from the small study were "never going to be as rigorous as from a full trial," Vanjani said.

OvaScience's fertility treatment, called Augment, is unavailable in the U.S. and seeks to boost egg viability using mitochondria from a woman's immature "precursor" egg cells found inside the protective ovarian lining.