Altimmune short report includes ‘factual inconsistencies,’ says B. Riley

B. Riley analyst Mayank Mamtani reiterates a Buy rating and $20 price target for Altimmune, arguing that the pressure from a short report today is “giving investors an opportunity to establish or add to positions” with the stock down 20% intraday. While the firm acknowledges “two points of merit” focused on the “highly competitive” nature of the obesity field for undifferentiated earlier-stage programs and NASH late-stage development path being “tenuous,” it also points to “several factual inconsistencies,” which it sees outweighing “inflated risks” that it argues are “already priced in.”