Truist Securities Downgrades Marinus Pharmaceuticals (MRNS) to Hold

Truist Securities analyst Joon Lee downgraded Marinus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: MRNS) from Buy to Hold.

The analyst comments "As reported by the company today, Ph3 TrustTSC failed to meet the pre-specified primary endpoint of seizure reduction. Oral GNX drove seizure reduction of 19.7% vs Pbo's 10.2% (p=0.09). As a result, the company will cease further clinical development and commenced exploration of strategic alternatives. Downgrading to HOLD (from BUY) and removing our prior price target of $10 for MRNS shares. We spoke with mgmnt who expressed surprise at very similar efficacy in Ph3 TrustTSC compared to what was observed in Ph2 despite improved tolerability and lower dropouts. Mgmnt did not feel that the study was under-powered and that GNX's MOA many just not be as potent as they would have liked. Additional details from the study including labs, seizure types, demographic data, etc. are expected in coming weeks but unlikely to change prospects of the drug. Market research they have done point to pbo-corrected seizure reduction of 20% as the bogey for commercial uptake and with just 10% seen in Ph3, the outlook is poor. There's value in Ztalmy, currently in the market for CDD. We estimate Ztalmy is on track for $33M in sales in YE24 and we model peak sales of $100M+ by 2030 but not enough to get us excited. Given today's news, we are downgrading MRNS to HOLD and removing our price target due to recent volatility in the shares and low-share price."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Marinus Pharmaceuticals click here. For more ratings news on Marinus Pharmaceuticals click here.

Shares of Marinus Pharmaceuticals closed at $1.69 yesterday.

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