Morphic MORF-057 data hard to interpret without details, says Canaccord

Canaccord notes that Morphic’s “stock price has taken a hard hit today,” potentially as a result of an abstract that became available at the United European Gastroenterology Week site for the medical conference that is scheduled for October 14-17. The abstract included data from MORF-057’s open-label Phase IIa EMERALD-1 trial that had already been reported by the company in April and the “only new result from the abstract was a 25.7% endoscopic improvement rate in treated patients at Week 12,” the analyst tells investors. While this result “certainly does not look good for MORF-057,” to fully interpret the result a more detailed analysis is needed, says the analyst, who expects the company to present more details during UEG Week. Canaccord has a Buy rating and $68 price target on Morphic shares, which are down 27% to $37.52 in afternoon trading.