Atreca downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel

Stifel downgraded Atreca to Hold from Buy with a price target of $1, down from $4, following management’s decision to suspend further ATRC-101 clinical development and implement a 40% workforce reduction in attempt to preserve existing capital. While the firm believes the platform and the expanding library of deconvoluted targets “command intrinsic value,” the firm finds it “too challenging here” to construct a confident investment thesis on the prospects of those business development activities now required to bridge the P&L to longer-term sustainability, the analyst tells investors.