Leerink Partners Cuts Bristol-Myers Squibb to Market Perform, Slashes Price Target to $59 on Pipeline Doubt

Leerink Partners downgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from Outperform to Market Perform on October 5, cutting its price target to $59 from $73. Analyst David Risinger cited growing skepticism about key late-stage pipeline candidates set to report clinical data in the coming months, writing that the firm lacked sufficient conviction in strong results to recommend buying the shares.

Leerink flagged three specific areas of concern. The first is admilparant, a LPA1 inhibitor for fibrotic disease, where Phase 3 results could disappoint on efficacy or safety. The second is milvexian, a novel blood thinner, where the firm doubted the drug could deliver competitive efficacy head-to-head against Bristol-Myers' own Eliquis in atrial fibrillation trials. Shares fell roughly 2.5% in premarket trading and extended losses to around 3.9% during the session, underperforming peers.

Separately, AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said his company has what it needs to keep growing beyond 2030 without a major acquisition, comments that came after market speculation about a potential tie-up between AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Despite the negative analyst action, Bristol-Myers also announced an expansion of its Champions in Care program, deepening its outreach to healthcare professionals.