Cytokinetics price target lowered to $78 from $106 at JMP Securities

JMP Securities analyst Jason Butler lowered the firm’s price target on Cytokinetics to $78 from $106 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. Last week, Cytokinetics announced an expanded strategic funding collaboration with Royalty Pharma, bringing in additional upfront and long-term capital to fund the aficamten launch and certain pipeline programs, and also announced an equity financing, raising gross proceeds of roughly $500M at $51 per share, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The financing transactions strengthen Cytokinetics’ capital resources to fund the aficamten launch and it provides substantial resources to fund development of next-generation cardiac myosin inhibitor CK-586 in heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction, and JMP believes the company remains an attractive acquisition target in the longer term but that potential for a near-term acquisition of Cytokinetics has been taken off the table.