Bank of America adjusted its coverage on four U.S. biopharmaceutical firms, lowering Alkermes, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals and Biohaven to Underperform and downgrading Liquidia to Neutral. The bank said the moves reflect a reassessment of individual risk-reward profiles rather than a wholesale change to its view of the sector.
Rationale and sector context
BofA framed the revisions as a combination of factors: stretched current valuations for some names, limited or uncertain near-term catalysts that could materially de-risk outcomes, and an internal rebalancing of its ratings across biopharma coverage. According to the brokerage, three of the companies were downgraded primarily because of valuation and catalyst concerns; Liquidia's rating was reduced despite improving fundamentals because of uncertainty around an upcoming patent litigation outcome.
Alkermes
The bank moved Alkermes from Neutral to Underperform after the stock posted a roughly 92% year-to-date rally, saying the share price now reflects a less attractive valuation. BofA flagged several upcoming and structural considerations that could weigh on the equity: pending clinical data in idiopathic hypersomnia, intensifying competition within the orexin drug class and the anticipated loss of exclusivity for Vivitrol in early 2027. Market notation in the underlying report showed ALKS down about 3.72% at the time of reporting.
Amphastar Pharmaceuticals
Amphastar was cut to Underperform, with BofA lowering its price target to $20 from $25. The brokerage pointed to the company's ongoing transition from a legacy generic drug manufacturer toward a model centered on proprietary brands and biosimilars, a shift it said will likely take time to bear fruit. BofA characterized near-term growth catalysts as limited and said Amphastar's legacy generics business faces constrained revenue opportunities. The stock was noted as AMPH down roughly 5.83% in the report extract.
Biohaven
Biohaven's rating was trimmed to Underperform and its price target reduced to $11 from $12. BofA described the risk-reward profile as unfavorable ahead of Phase 3 epilepsy results for Biohaven's Kv7 program, expressing concern that those data may not sufficiently differentiate the candidate from competing treatments. The brokerage also raised doubts about the company's cash runway and treated Biohaven's other 2026 obesity-related catalyst as offering limited de-risking potential. The internal excerpt indicated BHVN was down about 6.32% during the report's snapshot.
Liquidia
Liquidia was moved to Neutral even as BofA increased its price target to $79 from $64 and boosted its peak sales estimate for Yutrepia to $2.2 billion. While the bank praised the commercial launch of the therapy, it noted that the stock's approximately 125% year-to-date gain, combined with uncertainty around a pending patent dispute with United Therapeutics, produces a more balanced upside-downside profile. The stock was listed as LQDA down roughly 5.56% in the document fragment.
Bottom line
BofA's revisions emphasize the brokerage's focus on near-term catalysts and valuation discipline. The firm treated each company on its individual merits, citing valuation and timing concerns for three names and litigation uncertainty for Liquidia, rather than signaling a broad negative reassessment of the biopharma sector as a whole.