At The Motley Fool, we poke plenty of fun at Wall Street analysts and their endless cycle of upgrades, downgrades, and "initiating coverage at neutral." Today, we'll show you whether those bigwigs actually know what they're talking about. To help, we've enlisted Motley Fool CAPS to track the long-term performance of Wall Street's best and worst.
And speaking of the best...
On a generally "green" day for the markets, shareholders of cancer-drug maker Dendreon
Dendreon's enjoying a 2% bounce on the news -- as well it should. Consider the differences between these B of A ratings. Six months ago, the banker blasted Dendreon for missing sales estimates, even though those estimates called for only (as B of A described it) "minimal monthly growth." Growth expectations going forward were similarly muted, and B of A complained that it lacked "visibility into true demand" for Dendreon's Provenge anti-cancer treatment.
But today we're hearing the opposite. B of A cites a "75 physician survey" as supporting "a more constructive near term view on growth." Provenge sales are increasing. (Indeed, last quarter's revenues more than tripled year over year.) Costs are falling, and Bank of America now sees an "increased probability of success" for the company.
Are the bankers right?
Maybe. Earlier this week, my Foolish colleague David Williamson examined the theory that Dendreon has become buyout bait. The company just swiped a CEO from Savient Pharma, and its new boss, the innocuously named John Johnson, is the same guy who successfully guided ImClone to a buyout by Eli Lilly
Other potential suitors (as I've suggested before) might include similar large-cap victims of the patent cliff such as Pfizer
Honey, who shrunk the cash?
In a nutshell, though, cash is Dendreon's problem. With $435 million in negative free cash flow showing up on its own cash flow statement, Dendreon is a company living on borrowed time.
Literally. With $565 million in debt, versus $523 million cash at last report, Dendreon is net-cash-negative right now. And at its current burn-rate, Dendreon will be out of cash in just a few quarters. Unless it manages to sell itself to someone a bit more flush, management's going to have to float more debt, or issue more shares (diluting current shareholders) pretty soon, if it intends to remain in business.
Foolish takeaway
Longtime readers of the Fool will know that I'm partial to cash-generating businesses, and often skeptical of companies like Dendreon that seem to be in the "business" of burning money. I trust you'll understand, then, if I don't rush to embrace B of A's upgrade as a reason to buy Dendreon shares in bulk.
That said, you can't argue with the company's mission (to cure cancer). The valuation, at seven times book value, doesn't look crazy-unreasonable for a fast-growing sales machine like Provenge. (The P/B on this one is only a little more than twice the price-to-book value at Johnson & Johnson, for example.) Most important of all, both hypothetical seller and hypothetical multiple buyers have good reasons to want to get together and do a deal here.
Not interested in gambling on a takeover scenario in the topsy-turvy biotech market? Can't say I blame you. Perhaps we could interest you in a few rock-solid dividend stocks instead. Read our free Fool report today -- but act quickly. It won't be available at this price forever.