enGene Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ENGN) shares are trading sharply lower Friday.
The decline follows the company’s Thursday announcement of updated interim results from its Phase 2 LEGEND trial. A wave of analyst downgrades on Friday morning has fueled the sell-off. The stock has fallen more than 80% since the results were released.
Clinical Efficacy vs. Durability Concerns
The trial evaluated detalimogene in patients with high-risk, BCG-unresponsive bladder cancer. Data as of April 21 showed a 54% complete response (CR) rate at any time. However, the Kaplan-Meier estimate for the 12-month CR rate was 25%.
Among the 32 most recent patients, CR rates were lower than in previous reports. The company noted a 32% six-month CR rate for this specific subgroup.
Analysts Slash Price Forecasts
Wall Street reacted swiftly on Friday. Wells Fargo downgraded ENGN from Overweight to Equal-Weight. Zhu aggressively cut the price forecast from $25 to $2. Piper Sandler also downgraded the stock to Neutral, lowering the forecast from $7 to $4.
Other firms joined the retreat. Guggenheim moved ENGN from Buy to Neutral. Citizens also downgraded the stock to Market Perform. Meanwhile, HC Wainwright & Co. maintained a Buy rating but slashed the price forecast from $25 to $6.
Management Defends Preliminary Data
CEO Ron Cooper addressed the results, stating: “While durability outcomes to date are not what we hoped, these data are preliminary.” The company plans to provide a further update in the second half of 2026.
ENGN Stock Price Activity: enGene Therapeutics shares were down 5.81% at $1.620 at the time of publication on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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