IMCLONED->
S&P Equity Analyst Downgrades Opinion on Imclone Systems From 'Hold' to 'Sell'
Monday May 19, 5:42 pm ET
NEW YORK, May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard & Poor's has downgraded its equity STARS ranking on Imclone Systems (Nasdaq: IMCLE - News) from a three-STARS "Hold" to a one-STARS "Sell" at $20.31 per share. A leading provider of independent research, indices and ratings, Standard & Poor's made this announcement through Standard & Poor's MarketScope, its real-time market intelligence service.
"Standard & Poor's feels that the potential approval of Erbitux is already reflected in the price of Imclone's shares," notes Standard & Poor's Healthcare Equity Analyst, Frank DiLorenzo. "However, Erbitux approval is far from a foregone conclusion."
"In addition, with Genentech's Avastin providing clear survival benefit in colorectal cancer, we believe that Erbitux could be the odd man out and feel that the FDA hurdle may have gotten much higher," continues DiLorenzo. "Considering the risks in these shares, the company's checkered past, and the potential emergence of Avastin as a major, targeted anti-cancer therapy with significant results, we see no reason to speculate on Imclone."
Standard & Poor's Stock Appreciation Ranking System (STARS), which was first introduced on December 31, 1986, reflects the opinions of Standard & Poor's equity analysts on the price appreciation potential of 1,200 U.S. stocks for the next 6-12 month period. Rankings range from five-STARS (strong buy) to one-STARS (sell).
Standard & Poor's analytic services are performed as entirely separate activities in order to preserve the independence of each analytic process. In this regard, STARS, which are published by Standard & Poor's Equity Research Department, operates independently from, and has no access to information obtained by Standard & Poor's Credit Market Services, which may in the course of its operations obtain access to confidential information.
Standard & Poor's has the largest U.S. equity coverage count among equity research firms that are not affiliated with a Wall Street investment bank, analyzing 1,200 U.S. stocks. Standard & Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP - News), is a leader in providing widely recognized financial data, analytical research and investment and credit opinions to the global capital markets. With 5,000 employees located in 19 countries, Standard & Poor's is an integral part of the world's financial architecture. Additional information is available at www.standardandpoors.com. |
