Shares of Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA) plunged 5.06% in premarket trading on Friday, following a downgrade by JPMorgan analysts. The firm cut its rating on the gene-editing company from Overweight to Neutral and significantly lowered its price target to $13, citing competitive pressures and challenges.

The premarket decline comes after Intellia reported fourth quarter and full-year 2024 results on Thursday, providing updates on its gene editing pipeline. While the company highlighted progress in key trials for its ATTR amyloidosis and hereditary angioedema (HAE) therapies, analysts raised concerns about the competitive landscape and Intellia's strategic restructuring efforts.

In particular, JPMorgan analysts cited potential competition from emerging TTR silencers and therapies for ATTR amyloidosis, which could challenge Intellia's lead candidate Nex-z in the market. They also noted risks around the company's focus on prioritized programs, following its decision to discontinue work on the NTLA-3001 program in favor of a second-generation approach.