FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - The recent correction of the previously strong Morphosys shares continued on Thursday. The biotechnology company's papers came under pressure due to a critical study by analyst firm Kempen. They slipped by more than three percent in the early afternoon as one of the largest SDax losers. Analyst Suzanne van Voorthuizen reiterated her sell recommendation for the shares, whose value has already doubled this year.

The Kempen analyst does not rule out a complicated scenario when the evaluation of the data on Morphosys' great hope Pelabresib, which is due at the end of the year, comes up. It is possible that even marketing approval could then be called into question, van Voorthuizen wrote. Everything from an outright success to a mixed case to a "complete failure" is possible, he said.

This is the first time in a while that someone from among industry observers has expressed a negative view. Many pharmaceutical experts had recently been rather optimistic about the prospects of the cancer drug, which had given a powerful boost to the Morphosys share price. In mid-September, the shares had reached their highest level since January 2022, before recently falling back again./tav/tih/stk