Editas Medicine downgraded to Underperform from Buy at BofA

BofA downgraded Editas Medicine (EDIT) to Underperform from Buy with a price target of $1, down from $13, after the company recently announced plans to out-license their reni-cel program, which the firm sees lowering the impact of upcoming updates from the RUBY SCD trial at ASH and EdiTHAL thalassemia trial expected by year-end 2024. Deprioritizing reni-cel does make sense from a cash burn perspective, but it removes a significant portion of the firm’s valuation with partner interest remaining to be seen. Given the increasingly competitive nature of SCD and thalassemia development, the firm sees the potential value of reni-cel waning as the field looks to in vivo therapies as the next logical step, adds the analyst, who notes that Editas’ in vivo HSC program is still “several years from prime time.”