Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of biotechnology company ISIS Pharmaceuticals (ISIS 2.81%) dropped as much as 11% earlier in the trading session after reporting disappointing third-quarter earnings results.
So what: For the quarter, ISIS reported a higher loss per share relative to last year of $0.37 and revenue of $11.6 million. Although earnings reports aren't closely monitored by investors of clinical-stage companies, shareholders seem peeved that EPS was $0.10 worse than expected, and revenue was about half of Wall Street's forecast.
Now what: I don't often say this, but consider today's earnings report a short-term event -- perhaps even a non-event. All eyes should be on ISIS' homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia drug, Kynamro, which is being developed in collaboration with Sanofi (SNY +0.34%)Â and received a statistically favorable, but still worrisome, 9-6 nod to recommend the drug by the Food and Drug Administration panel. At the moment, Aegerion Pharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ: AEGR) lomitapide has a more clear and severe side-effect free path to approval than Kynamro, and investors will want to keep a close eye on both drugs in the coming months as we approach their FDA judgment day.
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