Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares continued to slide in Tuesday premarket trading after a BMO analyst downgraded the stock, saying sales of Amylin's diabetes drug Byetta will stay weak due to stiff competition.
Amylin shares sank 10.3 percent Monday, as the company's first-quarter results disappointed investors. Sales of Byetta were about $20 million below expectations, and beneath their fourth-quarter levels. The company cut its full-year sales forecast as a result.
BMO Capital Markets analyst Jason Zhang said a similar drug, Merck & Co.'s Januvia, is taking market share from Byetta. Januvia is approved as a stand-alone treatment, he said, while Byetta is approved only to supplement other diabetes drugs.
Januvia is also more convenient, he said: it is an oral medicine taken one a day, while Byetta is a twice-per-day injection.
Zhang cut his rating on the San Diego-based stock to "Underperform" from "Market Perform," and lowered his price target to $23 per share from $34. He added that wholesalers stockpiled Byetta in the winter, before Amylin raised prices.
In premarket trading, the stock slipped 28 cents to $27.90, from Monday's closing price of $28.18.
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