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BofA has downgraded Evotec’s stock (NASDAQ:EVO) to neutral over what it sees as near-term overhangs created by a recent cyber-attack on the company’s systems and weakness in biopharma customer spending.
The investment bank said it believes these overhangs could limit upside to the shares. It noted that the company still has not released its full Q1 earnings report, despite the attack occurring in early April. It added that while Evotec has reiterated its fiscal 2023 guidance, the forecast could be adjusted as the company evaluates the impact of the attack.
BofA said that the “protracted nature” of the company’s recovery from the cyber-attack, coupled with management’s “cautious” comments, “has us incrementally worried about the magnitude of the hit from this event.”
The bank added that it was lowering the stock’s rating to neutral until it learned more about the cyberattack situation. It also dropped Evotec’s price target to $13 from $16.
More on Evotec:
Novartis’ Sandoz to use Evotec’s technology in pact to develop biosimilars
Evotec gets $50M upfront from Bristol Myers in pact to develop neuro disease drugs