Incyte downgraded to Sector Perform after physician survey at RBC Capital

RBC Capital analyst Brian Abrahams downgraded Incyte to Sector Perform from Outperform with a price target of $79, down from $81. RBC’s physician survey indicates that appetite for novel JAK inhibitors that could compete with Incyte’s Jakafi may be higher than expected and moderate its medium-term growth, the analyst tells investors in a research note. In addition, setbacks in LIMBER coupled with recent competitor advancement highlight the need for better execution of life-cycle strategies to enable optimal revenue sustainment beyond the Jakafi patent cliff, says the firm. The analyst also believes optimism around Opzelura "already appears to be baked into numbers, potentially limiting the potential for major sales beats for Incyte. With the shares having rebounded to the mid-$70s off recent lows, the firm expects more range-bound trading in the near-term.