Fate Therapeutics (NASDAQ:FATE) stock fell about 50% in Friday’s pre-market trading session after falling about 45% in after-hours trading yesterday. The decline comes after the company pulled the plug on a collaboration agreement with Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ) subsidiary Janssen Biotech.
The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company also announced plans to lay off employees and bring down the employee count to 220 from 449 as of December-end.
Further, Fate intends to discontinue the clinical development of FT516 and FT538 NK cell programs in acute myeloid leukemia, FT516 and FT596 NK cell programs in B-cell lymphoma, and FT538 and FT536 NK cell programs in solid tumors.
However, the company anticipates that its available cash balance and other cost-cutting measures should be sufficient to support the iPSC-derived chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) NK and CAR T-cell programs through 2025.
Is FATE Stock a Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts are optimistic about Fate Therapeutics stock and have a Moderate Buy consensus rating, which is based on eight Buys, six Holds, and one Sell. FATE’s average price target of $55 implies 400% upside potential. Over the past three months, the stock is down 52.6%.
