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H.C. Wainwright analyst Ed Arce downgraded Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT) to Sell from Neutral with a price target of $25, down from $46, after the company disclosed that its Chief Medical Officer Jason Campagna has decided to resign effective March 5.

Campagna's two-week notice "represents the clearest sign yet that the long-term future of Ocaliva is in serious doubt," Arce tells investors in a research note.

The analyst believes the ongoing feedback from the FDA, since the Type A end-of-review meeting last year and in more recent communications since likely points to a "difficult road ahead" for any potential resubmission of the application for Ocaliva in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.