Cor Thera Dn 12% After News Of Bristol-Myers Drug Study
Dow Jones Newswires
By Ellen Sheng
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK -- A study showing the effectiveness of a Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) anti-clotting agent, Plavix, sparked worries that Cor Therapeutics Inc. (CORR) faces additional competition, pushing the company's stock down as much as 16% Tuesday.
Analysts were quick to point out that Plavix does not directly compete with Cor's anti-clotting agent, Integrilin, saying investors were mistaken.
Jim McCamant, a consulting analyst for Boston-based Moors & Cabot Technology Research Group, said that Plavix is at most a potential competitor for a second drug currently under development at Cor, Clomafiban. He said
short-sellers were intentionally interpreting the Plavix news to benefit their positions, when it is actually not relevant.
Shares of Cor were recently trading at $24.13, down 11.1% or $3, on volume of 2.3 million shares, compared with average daily volume of 1.4 million shares.
Although both Plavix and Integrilin are anti-clotting agents, they fall into different drug categories and are aimed at different patient groups, according to Michael King, analyst at Robertson Stephens.
In the study, Bristol-Myer's Plavix was found to reduce the chances of a new heart attack, stroke or death by 20%.
Analysts agreed that this wasn't bad news for Cor.
Moors & Cabot's McCamant said the "real" bad news for short-sellers of Cor stock came over the weekend when the company released positive findings about Integrilin. At the 50th Annual Scientific Session of the American
College of Cardiology in Orlando, Fla., Cor released findings showing that Integrilin, combined with another drug, fully restored blood flow through blocked arteries within 60 minutes.
Officials at Cor Therapeutics, San Francisco, were not immediately available for comment. |
