Intercept Shares Turn Negative Following Mid-Day Sell Rating From Cantor

Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ICPT) shares took an intra-day turn lower Wednesday after Cantor Fitzgerald issued a concerning mid-day note on the name.

Shares had been trading in positive territory for a couple hours ahead of the new sell-side recommendation; the stock last traded down a few pennies to around $143.45.

Cantor analyst Elemer Piros initiated coverage on Intercept with a Sell rating and $58 price target -- a target that suggested nearly 60 percent downside from where the stock was trading.

"While Intercept just launched Ocaliva for an orphan liver disease (market potential: $700 million), we are unenthusiastic about the drug’s future in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). We have identified six areas of weaknesses in the previous clinical package and the design of the currently ongoing Phase III trial," according to Piros.

The Cantor analyst highlighted analysis of two recent Phase IIb trials suggested the Phase III trial "has at most a 25% chance to succeed."