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Paused Trials Will Drive Rebound After Resolution Of Safety Concerns

Published
25 Mar 25
Updated
29 Oct 25
AnalystConsensusTarget's Fair Value
US$32.30
62.0% undervalued intrinsic discount
29 Oct
US$12.27
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1Y
-13.7%
7D
-52.6%

Author's Valuation

US$32.362.0% undervalued intrinsic discount

AnalystConsensusTarget Fair Value

Last Update 29 Oct 25

Fair value Decreased 5.25%

Intellia Therapeutics' consensus price target has declined from approximately $34.08 to $32.30 per share. Analysts cite heightened safety concerns surrounding recent liver injury events and paused clinical trials as key drivers behind lower valuation estimates.

Analyst Commentary

Amid Intellia Therapeutics’ recent developments, analysts have provided a range of perspectives reflecting both optimism regarding its long-term growth and caution around emerging safety concerns. Key bullish and bearish takeaways from current analyst commentary are outlined below.

Bullish Takeaways
  • Some analysts highlight strong interest and sizable opportunity for Intellia’s gene-editing therapies, particularly NTLA-2002, with expectations of meaningful market share growth and a positive impact on revenue projections.
  • Several analysts forecast upside for shares if ongoing investigations confirm recent adverse events to be isolated. This could offer potential for valuation recovery once additional safety data is available.
  • Advances in trial enrollment, especially for hereditary angioedema, are cited as evidence of attractive demand for once-and-done therapies, which could drive long-term sales and provide a competitive edge.
  • Bullish analysts generally maintain positive outlooks on long-term growth, citing robust clinical progress and attractive entry points given discounted shares.
Bearish Takeaways
  • Concerns focus on the platform’s safety profile after multiple cases of grade 4 liver injury, leading to a pause in clinical trials and rapid downward revisions in price targets.
  • Uncertainty persists over the timing and root causes of adverse events, as well as the potential for regulatory scrutiny and further delays to pivotal trial timelines.
  • Some analysts believe the risk/benefit profile for Intellia's leading therapy is now less favorable, leading them to move to the sidelines until greater clarity on safety emerges.
  • There is heightened skepticism that safety events may dampen confidence, constrain patient uptake, and cause the market to discount Intellia’s long-term valuation relative to peers.

What's in the News

  • Intellia Therapeutics has temporarily paused patient dosing and screening for its MAGNITUDE and MAGNITUDE-2 Phase 3 clinical trials of nex-z after a patient in the MAGNITUDE trial experienced Grade 4 liver injury, meeting the trial's protocol-defined pausing criteria (Key Developments).
  • Longer-term Phase 1 study data for nexiguran ziclumeran (nex-z) in hereditary ATTR amyloidosis with polyneuropathy showed deep, durable, and consistent serum TTR reductions, with favorable stability or improvement observed in clinical and biomarker measures for most patients (Key Developments).
  • Completion of enrollment was announced for the global Phase 3 HAELO study of lonvoguran ziclumeran (lonvo-z) for hereditary angioedema. Intellia is planning a biologics license application submission in the second half of 2026 and a potential U.S. launch in 2027 (Key Developments).
  • Nex-z, based on CRISPR/Cas9 technology, is being investigated as a potential first one-time treatment for transthyretin amyloidosis and has received Orphan Drug and RMAT Designations from the U.S. FDA and Orphan Drug Designation in Europe (Key Developments).

Valuation Changes

  • Consensus Analyst Price Target has decreased from $34.08 to $32.30 per share, reflecting a modest downward revision in projected fair value.
  • Discount Rate has risen slightly from 6.78% to 6.95%, indicating increased perceived risk in future cash flows.
  • Revenue Growth projections have edged down from 130.66% to 130.01%, suggesting a minor reduction in expected top-line expansion.
  • Net Profit Margin estimates have improved slightly from 16.06% to 16.33%, which points to anticipated operational efficiency gains.
  • Future P/E ratio has decreased from 49.79x to 47.01x, which implies a small reduction in forward-looking earnings multiples.

Key Takeaways

  • Accelerated clinical progress and expanding market opportunities position Intellia for earlier commercialization and significant long-term revenue growth.
  • Improved financial discipline and strong clinical validation support sustainable margins, enhanced payer acceptance, and recurring revenue from commercialization and partnerships.
  • Competitive pressures, high development costs, pipeline concentration, and reimbursement barriers threaten Intellia's growth, profitability, and ability to sustain its technological edge over time.

Catalysts

About Intellia Therapeutics
    A clinical-stage gene editing company, focuses on the development of curative genome editing treatments.
What are the underlying business or industry changes driving this perspective?
  • Growing patient and physician enthusiasm for Intellia's lead in vivo CRISPR therapies is driving faster-than-expected enrollment across multiple late-stage clinical trials (including an expanded 1,200-patient ATTR cardiomyopathy study and strong uptake in HAE), positioning the company to achieve meaningful clinical readouts and regulatory milestones ahead of prior guidance-this advances timelines to potential commercialization, driving long-term revenue growth prospects.
  • The sustained expansion of the addressable market for Intellia's programs is reinforced by demographic trends-especially aging populations and the continued rise in genetic and chronic conditions like ATTR amyloidosis and HAE-supporting higher future patient volumes and underpinning potential multi-launch revenue inflection points.
  • Improving financial discipline, as evidenced by successful restructuring, declining GAAP operating expenses (~10% reduction YoY), and a robust cash runway into the first half of 2027, enables Intellia to absorb increased R&D investment, advance pipeline expansion, and build out commercial infrastructure without dilutive fundraising, supporting protection of net margins and improving future earnings visibility.
  • Strengthening real-world validation of the company's platform-with mature clinical data showing durable, attack-free results in HAE and deep TTR reductions plus positive functional outcomes in ATTR-should bolster pricing power, enhance payer acceptance, and create leverage for value-based reimbursement, directly benefiting gross margins and long-term profitability.
  • Rapid technological and regulatory advancements in gene-editing-including increased healthcare investments, accelerating review pathways, and support for first-in-class CRISPR therapies-create a favorable environment for Intellia's platform to secure approvals, forge additional partnership/licensing opportunities, and achieve sustainable, recurring non-dilutive revenues through both commercialization and collaborations, increasing top-line growth and earnings potential.

Intellia Therapeutics Earnings and Revenue Growth

Intellia Therapeutics Future Earnings and Revenue Growth

Assumptions

How have these above catalysts been quantified?
  • Analysts are assuming Intellia Therapeutics's revenue will grow by 130.7% annually over the next 3 years.
  • Analysts are not forecasting that Intellia Therapeutics will become profitable in next 3 years. To represent the Analyst Price Target as a Future PE Valuation we will estimate Intellia Therapeutics's profit margin will increase from -908.5% to the average US Biotechs industry of 16.1% in 3 years.
  • If Intellia Therapeutics's profit margin were to converge on the industry average, you could expect earnings to reach $104.2 million (and earnings per share of $0.83) by about September 2028, up from $-480.2 million today. However, there is a considerable amount of disagreement amongst the analysts with the most bullish expecting $2.7 billion in earnings, and the most bearish expecting $-597.2 million.
  • In order for the above numbers to justify the analysts price target, the company would need to trade at a PE ratio of 49.8x on those 2028 earnings, up from -2.6x today. This future PE is greater than the current PE for the US Biotechs industry at 15.5x.
  • Analysts expect the number of shares outstanding to grow by 5.4% per year for the next 3 years.
  • To value all of this in today's terms, we will use a discount rate of 6.78%, as per the Simply Wall St company report.

Intellia Therapeutics Future Earnings Per Share Growth

Intellia Therapeutics Future Earnings Per Share Growth

Risks

What could happen that would invalidate this narrative?
  • Mounting competition from alternative gene therapy and RNAi approaches-including established and newly launched therapies in ATTR amyloidosis and HAE-could limit nex-z and lonvo-z's market share and weaken Intellia's pricing power, impacting long-term revenue growth and gross margins.
  • Reliance on major late-stage clinical trial results for limited lead programs (nex-z, lonvo-z) creates revenue concentration risk; any regulatory, clinical, or safety setbacks could significantly delay or diminish future earnings and long-term profitability.
  • High R&D expenses and ongoing cash burn, combined with no near-term commercial product revenues, raise the risk of shareholder dilution or funding constraints, potentially pressuring net margins and earnings despite current cash runway guidance.
  • Payer scrutiny and reimbursement challenges for costly, potentially one-time gene-editing therapies-especially in crowded indications-could limit uptake, slow commercial ramp, and jeopardize expected revenue streams.
  • Advances in other gene editing or treatment modalities (such as prime editing, base editing, or more effective RNAi) could erode Intellia's technological lead, making its CRISPR platform less differentiated over the long term, which would negatively affect revenue growth and long-term valuation.

Valuation

How have all the factors above been brought together to estimate a fair value?
  • The analysts have a consensus price target of $34.083 for Intellia Therapeutics based on their expectations of its future earnings growth, profit margins and other risk factors. However, there is a degree of disagreement amongst analysts, with the most bullish reporting a price target of $106.0, and the most bearish reporting a price target of just $7.0.
  • In order for you to agree with the analyst's consensus, you'd need to believe that by 2028, revenues will be $648.6 million, earnings will come to $104.2 million, and it would be trading on a PE ratio of 49.8x, assuming you use a discount rate of 6.8%.
  • Given the current share price of $11.71, the analyst price target of $34.08 is 65.6% higher.
  • We always encourage you to reach your own conclusions though. So sense check these analyst numbers against your own assumptions and expectations based on your understanding of the business and what you believe is probable.

How well do narratives help inform your perspective?

Disclaimer

AnalystConsensusTarget is a tool utilizing a Large Language Model (LLM) that ingests data on consensus price targets, forecasted revenue and earnings figures, as well as the transcripts of earnings calls to produce qualitative analysis. The narratives produced by AnalystConsensusTarget are general in nature and are based solely on analyst data and publicly-available material published by the respective companies. These scenarios are not indicative of the company's future performance and are exploratory in nature. Simply Wall St has no position in the company(s) mentioned. Simply Wall St may provide the securities issuer or related entities with website advertising services for a fee, on an arm's length basis. These relationships have no impact on the way we conduct our business, the content we host, or how our content is served to users. The price targets and estimates used are consensus data, and do not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and they do not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Note that AnalystConsensusTarget's analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

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