Intellia Therapeutics Stock Plummets After Adverse Event In Gene Editing Therapy Study: But Retail’s Buying The Dip

Shares of Intellia Therapeutics Inc. (NTLA) plunged 24% on Thursday morning after the company said that a patient in one of its late-stage gene editing therapy studies experienced grade 4 liver transaminase elevations, or a significant increase in liver enzymes.

The patient was part of a study of Nexiguran Ziclumeran, also known as Nex-z, an investigational gene editing therapy being developed for the treatment of Transthyretin Amyloidosis with Cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM). However, the patient’s elevated levels of liver enzymes appear to be resolving without hospitalization or medical intervention, the company said.

The firm has dosed over 200 patients with Nex-Z as part of the study and expects to enroll 765 patients in it by early 2027. It added that it continues to monitor these adverse events as the study progresses.

JPMorgan told investors in a research note that it was surprised the first case of grade 4 liver transaminase elevations in the study was not part of a standard disclosure.

While the firm does not believe the adverse event to be a significant departure from what it already knows, it believes the update could raise investor questions on gene editors’ longer-term safety.

Bank of America cut its price target on Intellia to $39 from $43 while keeping a ‘Buy’ rating on the shares following the update.

Goldman Sachs also said that it believes the grade 4 liver transaminase elevation safety event disclosed by Intellia potentially places Nex-Z's commercial positioning further in question, given the therapy's lack of an established long-term safety profile.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around NTLA jumped from ‘bearish’ to ‘extremely bullish’ over the past 24 hours while message volume rose from ‘low’ to ‘extremely high’ levels.

A Stocktwits user opined that the people selling the stock on Thursday do not understand clinical trials.

Another said that they are on a buying spree.

NTLA stock is down 40% this year and by about 66% over the past 12 months.

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