Graphite Bio downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BTIG

BTIG analyst Yun Zhong downgraded Graphite Bio to Neutral from Buy without a price target. The analyst has concerns that the safety findings from the first treated patient in the Phase 1/2 study in sickle cell disease may be related to Graphite’s technology platform, and therefore "could have profound impact beyond the program." Management indicated in a recent follow-up discussion that AAV6, which is used to introduce an exogenous donor DNA template into hematopoietic stem cells for high-fidelity homology-directed repair, may have negatively affected hematopoietic stem cells’ key capacity of self-renewal and pluripotency, thereby leading to prolonged pancytopenia in the patient, the analyst tells investors in a research note. As such, BTIG does not see a near-term favorable risk/reward ratio for Graphite Bio shares.