What happened
Shares of Lantheus Holdings (LNTH 0.17%) were up 21.2% for the week as of Friday afternoon, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The healthcare company released its quarterly results on Thursday, surpassing analysts' forecasts for revenue and earnings.
The stock closed at $59.72 at the end of last week, then rose to as high as $73.44 on Friday, dropping to closer to $72 per share later in the day.
The stock has a 52-week low of $40.21 and a 52-week high of $87.47.
Lantheus' shares are up more than 41% so far this year.
So what
Lantheus provides diagnostic agents, targeted therapeutics, and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to help healthcare professionals diagnose and treat diseases. The company's fourth-quarter and full-year numbers beat analysts' consensus estimates. Lantheus reported revenue of $263 million for the quarter, up 103% year over year, and full-year revenue of $935 million, up 120%. The company said it lost $119 million in the fourth quarter, compared to a loss of $40 million a year ago. For the year, the company had net income of $28 million, or earnings per share (EPS) of $0.40, an improvement from a $71 million loss and an EPS loss of $1.06 in 2021.
The company cited its expanded radiopharmaceutical oncology products and the success of Pylarify for the increased earnings. Pylarify (piflufolastat), which was approved in 2021 by the Food and Drug Administration, is a radioactive drug to help with the imaging of prostate-specific membrane antigen positive lesions in men with prostate cancer. It makes the lesions easier to read on a positron emission tomography (PET) scan, which is an imaging test that shows certain functions in tissues and organs.
Now what
Lantheus presents a good long-term buy opportunity because it has become more profitable while expanding its portfolio of imaging agents for a variety of diseases.
The company's guidance for the first quarter of 2023 and the full-year also fueled investor optimism. The company said it expects first-quarter revenue to be between $280 million and $285 million, compared to $209 million in the first quarter of 2022. It also sees first-quarter EPS landing between $1.28 and $1.32, compared to $0.63 in the same period last year.
Lantheus forecast full-year revenue to be between $1.14 billion and $1.16 billion and full-year EPS to be between $4.95 and $5.10.
The company also recently bought Cerveau Technologies, obtaining that company's lead asset, MK-6240, a PET imaging agent that targets Tau tangles that are present in Alzheimer's disease. With a growing population of those 65 and older, the number of people expected to be tested for Alzheimer's is expected to rise and this market is a good opportunity for Lantheus.
