What happened?
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (BCRX 2.27%) stock is dropping sharply on Thursday after the biotech company reported disappointing fourth-quarter financial results. BioCryst's shares were down by 8.4% as of 1:53 p.m. EST.
So what
BioCryst's total revenue for the fourth quarter ending Dec. 31 was roughly $4 million, down from the $39.7 million in revenue recorded during the year-ago period. In the fourth quarter of 2019, the company recognized a one-time revenue of $20.1 million, and it also reported $13.9 million in revenue from the sale of flu medicine Rapivab under a contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. During Q4 2020, BioCryst did not record any sales from Rapivab; these factors help explain the year-over-year decrease in the company's top line.
Image source: Getty Images.
Still, the biotech's revenue came in well short of the $14.74 million consensus analyst estimate. On the bottom line, BioCryst recorded a net loss of $60.5 million and a net loss per share of $0.34. During Q4 2019, the company reported a net loss of $2.6 million -- or $0.02 on a per-share basis. The consensus estimate for the company's bottom line was a net loss of $0.25. For the full fiscal year 2020, BioCryst posted total revenue of $17.8 million and a net loss per share of $1.09. Those metrics were below the $28.2 million in revenue and the $1 loss per share analysts expected.
Now what
Despite BioCryst's disappointing fourth-quarter financial results, investors have something to look forward to with this healthcare stock. Back in December, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the company's Orladeyo, a once-daily pill to prevent hereditary angioedema attacks. The company expects this medicine to rack up global peak sales of more than half a million dollars. Thanks to Orladeyo, BioCryst's financial results could look much better this year than they did last year.
