MoonLake Immunotherapeutics (MLTX) stock took a beating on Monday after the biotechnology company announced week 16 results from its Phase 3 VELA-1 and VELA-2 clinical trials. These trials are focused on treating patients with moderate-to-severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). This is a chronic skin condition that causes painful, recurring boils and abscesses.
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The big news here is that while both arms of these studies met their primary endpoints, they only just barely did so. Investors were hoping for strong results, with the VELA-2 clinical trial being an especially disappointing showing for the company. Even so, MoonLake Immunotherapeutics plans to continue its clinical trials with the intent to submit a Biologics License Application for its HS treatment.
Adding to this was updated analyst coverage of MLTX stock following its clinical trial results. One that sticks out is a downgrade from RBC Capital analyst Brian Abrahams, who lowered the stock to Hold from Buy and cut his price target to $10 from $67, representing a possible 83.87% downside. Five-star BTIG analyst Julian Harrison also downgraded MoonLake Immunotherapeutics stock to a Hold rating.
MoonLake Immunotherapeutics Stock Movement Today
MoonLake Immunotherapeutics stock was down 88.18% in pre-market trading on Monday, following a 9.95% rally on Friday. The shares had increased 14.18% year-to-date and 22.95% over the past 12 months as of Friday’s close.
Today’s news also triggered heavy trading of MLTX stock, with some 21 million shares traded as of this writing, compared to a three-month daily average of about 670,000 units.
Is MoonLake Immunotherapeutics Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for MoonLake Immunotherapeutics is Strong Buy, based on nine Buy and two Hold ratings over the past three months. With that comes an average MLTX stock price target of $73, representing a potential 17.76% upside for the shares.
