ALT Stock Reverses Early Gains On Positive Alcohol Use Trial — But Wall Street, Retail Investors Dismiss Selloff

• At first glance, Leerink said, pemvidutide’s efficacy looks encouraging.
• H.C. Wainwright called the data a “clear Phase 2 win.”
• Retail investors on Stocktwits sided with the analysts, dismissing the selloff.

Shares of Altimmune (ALT) rose as much as 10% in late morning trading on Tuesday before paring gains after the company reported positive early results from a mid-stage study of its experimental drug pemvidutide in people with alcohol use disorder.

ALT stock was trading 4% lower at the time of writing, but analysts applauded the trial outcome.

Altimmune’s Trial Results

Earlier on Tuesday, Altimmune said the mid-stage RECLAIM trial met its main goal and key secondary goals. Patients who received pemvidutide showed meaningful reductions in heavy drinking days compared with those on placebo. The drug also helped more patients lower their overall drinking risk levels and showed improvements in a blood marker of recent alcohol use.

The company described the drug as generally well tolerated, with side effects similar to those seen in earlier studies for other conditions. However, gastrointestinal side effects occurred more often with pemvidutide than with placebo, and about 10% of patients on the drug stopped treatment because of the side effects related to it.

The company now plans to meet with the FDA to discuss next steps in the indication. Altimmune is also studying the drug in Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD).

Wall Street Weighs In

Analysts reacted positively to the data. Leerink said Altimmune announced “positive topline results” from the trial. At first glance, the firm said, pemvidutide’s efficacy looks encouraging. On safety, it appears generally well tolerated with a tolerability profile similar to the company’s earlier experience in metabolic liver disease, even though the alcohol use disorder population may be more prone to stomach-related side effects. Leerink reiterated an ‘Outperform’ rating on the shares.

H.C. Wainwright reiterated a Buy rating with a $20 price target, implying a potential upside of about 576% from the stock’s last close. The primary endpoint and both potentially registrational endpoints were met, “de-risking” Altimmune’s optionality in the condition, the firm said. H.C. Wainwright called the data a “clear Phase 2 win.”

How Did ALT Retail Traders React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around ALT stock jumped from ‘neutral’ to ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume jumped from ‘low’ to ‘high’ levels.

A Stocktwits user said that they are buying more on the selloff, citing an expanded total addressable market following the trial data and lack of short-term risk.

Another termed the stock drop as irrational.

ALT stock has fallen 18% year-to-date. 

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