Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, drug developer Optimer Pharmaceuticals
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Optimer's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
Optimer facts
| Headquarters (founded) | San Diego (1998) |
| Market Cap | $641.4 million |
| Industry | Pharmaceuticals |
| Trailing-12-Month Revenue | $145.0 million |
| Management | CEO Pedro Lichtinger (since 2010) Chief Scientific Officer Sherwood Gorbach (since 2011) |
| Return on Capital (average, past 3 years) | (50.8%) |
| Cash/Debt | $110.6 million / $0 |
| Competitors |
Bayer Pfizer Sanofi |
Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.
On CAPS, 24% of the 144 members who have rated Optimer believe the stock will underperform the S&P 500 going forward.
Just last week, one of those bears, All-Star zzlangerhans, cautioned Fools about getting excited over Optimer's antibiotic Dificid:
This was one of my former favorite stocks. ... However, Dificid is not off to an awesome start, with flat revenues around [$10 million] in the first two quarters of the US launch. The stock is still getting some of the benefit of the doubt, having risen from recent lows around [$10 per share] seen towards the end of 2011. However, that upward float renders the stock susceptible for a major gap downward if Q1 2012 revenues disappoint. Ominously, I haven't heard any buzz about Dificid or seen any patients who have been treated with it. Optimer has also terminated development of their other advanced pipeline compound, Pruvel, leaving Dificid to bear sole responsibility for the company's future.
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