Citi Analyst Defends Intercept Pharmaceuticals

In a note released Wednesday, Citi analyst Jonathan Eckard says the drop in Intercept Pharmaceuticals ICPT shares over the past couple months, due to negative emails between Intercept's Chief Medical Officer and an officer at the National Institute of Health were "overdone."

Eckard believes the current price reflects low expectations for July data regarding nonalcoholic steatohepatitis or NASH.

The Citi analyst reduced his price target on shares of Intercept from $700 to $693 and maintained a Buy rating.

Shares of Intercept are down slightly (0.8 percent) in Wednesday's session at $239.74.