What happened
Biotech specialist Incyte (INCY 1.27%) trailed the market last month as the stock shed 11%, compared to a 4% jump in the S&P 500, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Shareholder returns are in solidly positive territory over the past year, though, with Incyte up 32% in that time, compared to an 8% increase in the broader market.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
Investors sent the stock lower in April as they braced for potentially bad news in the company's first-quarter earnings report. However, the actual results contained positive operating news. On April 30, executives revealed that a 20% increase in sales for its Jakafi treatment helped drive Incyte's sales higher by 30%. The development pipeline is packed with several potential commercial wins, including a cream that could treat vitiligo, a skin condition that affects pigmentation.
Now what
Investors will have to wait for more clinical results before judging the commercial strength of that cream and of Incyte's other treatments currently working their way toward Food and Drug Administration clearance. In the meantime, the company affirmed its sales outlook for Jakafi and still sees the drug delivering revenue of between $1.58 billion and $1.65 billion this year.
