SunTrust Downgrades Celgene On Refusal To File Letter For Ozanimod

SunTrust analyst Yatin Suneja downgraded Celgene (CELG) to Hold from Buy after the company received a refusal to file letter from the FDA on ozanimod for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. The analyst cut his price target for the shares to $106 from $139.

Celgene in premarket trading is down 6%, or $5.79, to $95.78. Suneja says that following pipeline setbacks in late 2017, ozanimod was central to his "bull thesis to re-accelerate growth" and provide "much needed diversification away from myeloma." Given the delay, he lowered his ozanimod peak sales estimate to $3.5B from $5B. The refusal to file letter could result in a 24-month or longer delay for ozanimod's launch in relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, Suneja tells investors in a research note.