It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CPRX Quick QuoteCPRX - Free Report) . Shares have added about 16.6% in that time frame, outperforming the market.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to the stock's next earnings release, or is it due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.

Catalyst (CPRX Quick QuoteCPRX - Free Report) Reports Narrower-than-Expected Loss in Q4

Catalyst Pharma reported a loss of $0.05 per share in the fourth quarter of 2016, a penny narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate and also narrower than the loss of $0.07 in the year-ago quarter.

Being a development-stage company, Catalyst Pharma does not have any approved product in its portfolio yet.

Quarter in Detail

Research and development (R&D) expenses were $2.8 million, down 26.4% from the year-ago quarter. The decline was due to continued activities related to ongoing studies and trials for Firdapse, including the costs of Firdapse Expanded Access Program, and cost of the company’s CPP-115 and generic Sabril programs.

General and administrative expenses were down 36.7% to $1.5 million. The was primarily due to the company’s efforts to conserve cash after the receipt of the FDA’s “refusal to file letter” for Firdapse.

2016 Results

For full-year 2016, the company reported a loss of $0.22 per share compared with loss of $0.25 in 2015. This loss was narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate loss of $0.23.

Pipeline Update

Given that Catalyst Pharma does not have any revenue-generating product in its portfolio yet, investors are expected to focus on pipeline and regulatory updates. At present, Catalyst Pharma has two candidates under development – Firdapse and CPP-115.

In late Oct 2016, the company reached an agreement with the FDA for a Special Protocol Assessment for the design, clinical endpoints, and statistical analysis of the upcoming second phase III study on its lead pipeline candidate, Firdapse, in the symptomatic treatment of Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS). The company began enrolling patients into second phase III study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Firdapse in patients with LEMS.

Additionally, Catalyst Pharma expanded congenital myasthenic syndromes (CMS) trial on Firdapse beyond pediatric patients to include adult CMS patients and increase patient enrollment size.

The company also expects top-line results from LEMS and CMS trials and plans to submit an NDA for Firdapse in second half of 2017.  Moreover, the company anticipates reinitiating pre-commercialization activities for a potential launch of Firdapse in 2018.

Furthure, Catalyst Pharma is working on developing a generic version of Sabril (vigabatrin). The company is also exploring alternatives for further development of CPP-115.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

Analysts were quiet during the last one month period as none of them issued any earnings estimate revisions.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Price and Consensus

 

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Price and Consensus | Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Quote

VGM Scores

At this time, Catalyst's stock has an average Growth Score of 'C', though it is lagging a lot on the momentum front with an 'F'. Charting an exact same path, the stock was allocated a grade of 'F' on the value side, putting it in the bottom 20% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of 'F'. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

The company's stock is suitable solely for growth based on our styles scores.

Outlook

Notably, the stock has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We are looking for an inline return from the stock in the next few months.