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What:
Shares of specialty pharmaceutical company Eagle Pharmaceuticals (EGRX 20.00%) jumped by more than 38% during August, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.
So what
The company's upbeat second-quarter earnings report appears to be the primary reason that shares rose during the month. Here are a few of its highlights:
- Revenue was $40.9 million for the quarter, up sharply from the $6 million produced in the year-ago period. The biggest driver of revenue gains was $31.3 million in royalty revenue related to Teva Pharmaceuticals' (TEVA 0.91%) licensing and launch of Bendeka in January. Bendeka is used to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia and indolent B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and Eagle stated that it now commands an 80% market share.
- Product sales more than doubled to $9.6 million during the period thanks in large part to the recent launches of Bendeka and Ryanodex. Ryandodex is the company's treatment for malignant hyperthermia.
- Net income was $13.1 million, $0.80 per diluted share. That was much better than the $0.71 in earnings that analysts' had expected.
- The company reduced its royalty-payment obligations related to future Ryanodex sales from 15% to 3% in exchange for a $15 million cash payment.
- Eagle's Board has authorized management to repurchase up to $75 million in common stock.
If all of that wasn't good enough, Eagle also learned from the FDA that no additional testing is required to submit Ryanodex for review as a treatment for exertional heat stroke, or EHS. Management believes that the expanded indication could be in hand as early as next year.
All in all, the company had a great quarter, so its no surprise its shares rebounded sharply from the drubbing that they had taken since the start of the year.
Now what
Wall Street is projecting that Eagle will pull in $3.20 per share in profit for all of 2016, and that number is expected to leap to $5.24 next year. That puts this company's forward P/E ratio at less than 12, which isn't much for a company that is expected to grow sales and profits at rapid rates over the next few years.
Eagle's stock has been quite volatile over the past year, but investors who bought during its early 2014 IPO have done remarkably well. If you're a believer in this company's products and its pipeline, then buying shares while they are still on sale could prove to be a profit-friendly move.
