UPDATE: Barclays Downgrades Ariad Pharmaceuticals Following News of Iclusig Clinical Hold

In a report published Thursday, Barclays Capital analyst Ying Huang downgraded the rating on Ariad Pharmaceuticals ARIA from Overweight to Underweight, and lowered the price target from $25.00 to $4.00. In the report, Barclays Capital noted, “We are downgrading ARIA to UW from OW and reducing our price target to $4 from $25, on higher risk of Iclusig not receiving FDA approval as a front-line therapy for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and reduced peak sales in second-line treatment given safety concerns around cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and peripheral vascular thrombosis. We see risk/reward skewed to the downside at current levels.” Ariad Pharmaceuticals closed on Wednesday at $5.83.