A healthcare AI collaboration and a bullish retail outlook lift sentiment, while a Phase 3 trial setback puts EyePoint under pressure.
- AstraZeneca shares rise premarket after it agreed to explore AI-driven tools with Oracle to help identify clinical trial candidates and speed up research.
- Barclays raised its VSXY price target and maintained an ‘Overweight’ rating ahead of the retailer’s Q3 report.
- EyePoint Pharmaceuticals shares fell after JPMorgan downgraded the stock to ‘Underweight.’
Shares of AstraZeneca (AZN), Victoria’s Secret (VSXY) and EyePoint Pharmaceuticals (EYPT) moved in different directions in premarket trading on Tuesday. The moves followed a healthcare AI collaboration, an analyst price-target hike, and a downgrade after a clinical-trial setback.
AZN shares moved higher after Oracle Corp. (ORCL) announced an agreement to explore AI applications in clinical research. Similarly, VSXY gained after Barclays raised its price target, while EYPT fell after JPMorgan downgraded it.
AZN, ORCL Explore AI In Clinical Trials
AstraZeneca (AZN) shares gained over 1.8% in premarket trading after Oracle announced a non-binding agreement with the company to explore how artificial intelligence and real-world data could help identify eligible clinical trial participants, speed up research and bring findings into everyday patient care.
The proposed collaboration would combine AstraZeneca’s scientific and therapeutic expertise with Oracle’s healthcare data, cloud infrastructure, AI, analytics and clinical workflow capabilities. The companies plan to explore tools that could help care teams identify suitable patients earlier, improve clinical trial efficiency and address patient recruitment challenges.
Barclays Raises VSXY Price Target
Victoria’s Secret (VSXY) shares gained nearly 1% in premarket trading after Barclays raised its price target to $112 from $106 while maintaining an ‘Overweight’ rating.
The firm remains constructive on the stock ahead of the company’s third-quarter report. According to the research note, transaction and traffic data point to continued momentum across the business.
EYPT Slides After JPMorgan Downgrade
EyePoint Pharmaceuticals (EYPT) shares fell nearly 4.4% after JPMorgan downgraded the stock to ‘Underweight’ from ‘Neutral.’ The firm did not provide a price target.
The downgrade followed EyePoint’s first Phase 3 trial of Duravyu for wet age-related macular degeneration, which failed to meet its primary endpoint. JPMorgan expects the shares to remain under pressure in the medium term.
AZN, VSXY, EYPT Stocks: Stocktwits Retail Sentiment
Retail sentiment toward AstraZeneca was ‘neutral,’ unchanged in the past 24 hours, while message volume rose to ‘high’ from ‘normal’ during the same period. AZN shares have fallen around 11% year-to-date.
Retail sentiment for Victoria’s Secret was ‘bullish,’ while message volume was ‘high,’ both unchanged over the past 24 hours. VSXY stock has gained over 193% since the beginning of this year.
For EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, the sentiment improved to ‘bullish’ from ‘bearish’ in the past 24 hours, while message volume jumped to ‘extremely high’ from ‘normal’ during the same period. EYPT stock has declined over 96% year-to-date.
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