Spero Therapeutics downgraded at Evercore on lack of capital allocation clarity

As previously reported, Evercore ISI downgraded Spero Therapeutics (SPRO) to In Line from Outperform with an unchanged price target of $5 following the failure of the Phase 2a proof-of-concept study of SPR720 for the treatment of NTM-PD, the focus is on GSK-partnered tebi in cUTI, the analyst noted. While the firm continues to believe this partnership offers significant value, the “reality” is that unless Spero is being run as a shell to distribute these economics to shareholders, the cash will likely go towards business development or other earlier projects, the analyst tells investors. The firm cites a lack of clarity on capital allocation for the downgrade.