Ocular Therapeutix tumbles on rival Kodiak's trial win, analyst calls selloff overdone
OCUL•Ocular Therapeutix shares fell 18.8% after rival Kodiak Sciences said two experimental drugs met the main goals of a late-stage wet AMD trial. An analyst called Ocular's selloff overdone, while Kodiak shares rose 189%.
1. Kodiak trial results
Kodiak Sciences said its experimental drugs Zenkuda and tabirafusp-ted met the main goals of a late-stage trial in patients with wet age-related macular degeneration, matching Regeneron's aflibercept on vision gains.
2. Analyst backs Ocular
Ocular Therapeutix is developing axpaxli, a competing long-acting treatment for wet AMD. RBC Capital Markets analyst Lisa Walter said the selloff was overdone, arguing that Ocular's current valuation did not reflect that axpaxli could become a roughly $1 billion drug three to four years into a wet AMD launch. Walter added that she continued to view Ocular as having the best-positioned long-acting treatment.
3. Share moves
Ocular shares fell 18.8% to $7.84 in afternoon trading, while Kodiak shares rose 189% to $93.59, putting the company on track to add about $3.85 billion in market value. Including the session's moves, Ocular was down 35% and Kodiak was up 221% year to date.
