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 in Antares Pharma (ATRS) slumped by 10% earlier today after it priced a dilutive secondary stock offering.
So What: Antares Pharma is offering to sell 20 million shares at a price of $2 per share in a bid to raise $37.6 million, after fees and commissions are paid to brokers and advisors.
The company plans to use the proceeds from this secondary offering to support its business development, in-licensing, and acquisition efforts.
Those efforts will likely include increased marketing for Otrexup, a treatment that is approved to treat adults with severe active rheumatoid arthritis and in children with active polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
In April, Antares Pharma got back rights from LEO Pharma A/S to market Otrexup to dermatologists for use in treating severe recalcitrant psoriasis. Although dermatologists account for less than 5% of Otrexup's current script volume, Antares Pharma believes there's still an opportunity to market to these prescribers and increase Otrexup's sales.
Antares Pharma is also developing a once-weekly Quickshot testosterone injector for patients on testosterone replacement therapy and, despite receiving a complete response letter from the FDA denying approval of its Vibex sumatriptan for use in migraine patients, the company continues to pursue that therapy with partner Teva Pharmaceuticals.
Now What: Antares Pharma is focusing its efforts on partnering with specialty pharmaceutical companies that want to use Antares Pharma's injection technology to administer their medications. If the company is successful in this strategy, it should provide a steady stream of upfront, milestone, and royalty payments that can complement sales of its wholly owned products, such as Otrexup.
So far, its strategy appears to be working. In the fourth quarter, Antares Pharma reported sales of $8.4 million, up 77% year-over-year, and as a result, its net loss shrank to $0.08 in the quarter from $0.27 the year before.
Since the company is sitting on $40 million in cash already, and it doesn't have any debt, the additional money from this offering should give it plenty of financial flexibility; however, this is a small cap stock that's still losing money and for that reason, I'm unwilling to take on the risk of owning this one in my portfolio.