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 Insys Therapeutics (INSY), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies to treat cancer, popped as much as 11% right at the open following its third-quarter earnings release, but has since given up all of its gains and some, and is trading lower by 5% as of this writing.
So what: For the quarter, Insys reported a more than 500% increase in revenue to $29.2 million compared to the $4.8 million it reported at this time last year while profit per share leaped to $0.58 from a year-ago loss. By comparison, Wall Street was anticipating just $27 million in revenue and an adjusted profit per share of only $0.35.
What appears to be giving shareholders indigestion, and why the share price so rapidly retreated from its highs, has to do with comments in the press release regarding its dronabinol oral solution. According to the company, the clinical dossier is complete, however, because of ongoing discussions with the Food and Drug Administration, and having to wait for the Drug Enforcement Agency to schedule dronabinol, Insys may not be able to file its new drug application during the current quarter as it previously had stated it would.
Now what: "Wow" is all I have to say when I look at where Wall Street's figures were compared to where Insys reported. While the dronabinol news is disappointing, it's nothing more than a one- or two-quarter setback and may actually provide a buying opportunity into this rapidly growing therapeutics company. I'm not often one for advocating digging into companies already up 600% from their lows, but Insys looks as if it could deliver strong results for years to come.
