Hapoalim Securities Lowering Price Target On Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA)

Hapoalim Securities is lowering its price target on Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ARNA to $2 and reiterating its Sell rating, after the initial FDA findings were released yesterday on its lorcaserin drug. In the research note, Hapoalim Securities writes, "Yesterday, the FDA posted its review of lorcaserin, questioning both efficacy and safety. The fact that malignancies of multiple types were seen in rats treated with high doses was quite surprising to us and an FDA reviewer concluded that, given the lack of a safety margin, an unresolved tumorigenic mechanism of action, and a patient population already at increased risk of breast cancer, the relevance of these findings in rats to human risk cannot be dismissed. As a result, we are lowering our Arena Price Target to $2.00. We reiterate our SELL rating." Shares of Arena fell nearly 40% to $4.13 on these concerns.