iKena selloff on IK-930 update an overreaction, says H.C. Wainwright

H.C. Wainwright lowered the firm’s price target on iKena Oncology to $11 from $18 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after the company reported an update from the Phase 1 dose escalation study of IK-930. The data pointed to the potential safety advantages of targeting TEAD1 over pan-TEAD inhibition strategy in epithelioid hemangioendothelioma, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm is encouraged to see the inroads being made toward addressing the kidney toxicity stemming from targeting TEAD, but says questions on IK-930 exposure variability have caused an overreaction from investors. Despite IK-930’s exposure variability, Ikena delivered on the central thesis that TEAD1 targeting is the safer route toward targeting the Hippo pathway, contends H.C. Wainwright.