Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) are slipping after Citi analyst Andrew Baum said Pfizer's (PFE) CEO made it clear to him that the latter has no interest in acquiring the company in the absence of transformational data or a de-rating in the stock.

PFIZER ‘BACKS AWAY'

BRISTOL-MYERS TARGET LOWERED: In a separate research note, Citi's Baum lowered his price target for Bristol-Myers to $70 from $78 as Pfizer backs away from a potential takeover. The analyst's previous price target reflected a 65% probability of acquisition, most likely by Pfizer at $83, he noted. Nonetheless, Baum told investors that he views his newly-lowered target price as conservative given the absence of contribution from CHECKMATE-9LA in first line non-small cell lung cancer, which has the potential to define a new standard of care regardless of baseline PDL1 and TMB tumor status. The analyst reiterated a Buy rating on Bristol-Myers shares.