Slow Breast Cancer Drug Sales Send Puma Biotech Shares Reeling

Puma Biotechnology Inc PBYI, a company focused on developing cancer drugs, is seeing its stock hurtle to its lowest level in about 2 1/2 years following the release of its third-quarter results, which incidentally came in ahead of expectations.

What Happened

Puma Biotech's Q3 total net revenue of $62.6 million exceeded the $57.9-million consensus estimate.

The company's first and only commercial product Nerlynx — used to treat early stage HER2-positive breast cancer following adjuvant trastuzumab-based therapy — raked in sales of $52.6 million, trailing expectations of $58.1 million.

The product was approved in July 2017, with shipments to wholesalers beginning at the end of July 2017.

The net loss per share narrowed from $2.07 to 37 cents. The consensus had called for a loss of 97 cents per share.

As of September, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $68.3 million and marketable securities of $59.7 million.

Reacting to the results, Barclays lowered the price target on Puma Biotech shares from $72 to $29. 

JPMorgan downgraded the stock from Overweight to Underweight. 

What's Next

Notwithstanding the domestic softness in Nerlynx, Puma is making inroads into the international market with its breast cancer drug. It received European Commission approval for the drug in the third quarter. 

The company expects Nerlynx to be commercially launched in Germany in the first half of 2019 and subsequently in additional European countries throughout the second half of 2018.

Canada accepted the New Drug Submission in Q3, while in China, Puma Biotech's licensing partner CANbridge Pharma was informed of China's National Medical Products Administration accepting the NDA.

Puma Biotech shares were plummeting 51.4 percent to $18.76 at the time of publication Friday. 

Related Links:

The Week Ahead In Biotech: Conferences, PDUFA Dates, Clinical Trial Results, Earnings And IPOs

Attention Biotech Investors: Mark Your Calendar For These November PDUFA Dates