** Brokerage H.C. Wainwright starts coverage on gene editing firm Intellia Therapeutics NTLA.O with "buy" rating, sets PT at $30
** Brokerage sees significant upside to NTLA's lead therapy candidate, NTLA-2002, for a type of heart disease known as hereditary angioedema
** The CRISPR-based therapy offers a one-time treatment for the condition with comparable efficacy to preventive treatments — brokerage
** NTLA is also developing a gene therapy, nexiguran ziclumeran (Nex-Z), to treat transthyretin amyloidosis, a condition that causes protein buildup in the heart
** "We believe the dramatic 2024 stock pullback, taking the market cap from ~$2.7B to ~$1.0B today, presents a compelling opportunity to own NTLA ahead of 2025 catalysts" — H.C. Wainwright
** NTLA has fallen ~72% in the past 12 months
(Reporting by Padmanabhan Ananthan)
((Padmanabhan.Ananthan@thomsonreuters.com))