It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. . Shares have added about 40.4% 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 the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.
Aerie Posts Wider-Than-Expected Q1 Loss, Expenses Up
Aerie posted first-quarter 2017 loss of $0.76 per share (including stock-based compensation), wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $0.74 but narrower than the year-ago loss of $0.85.
Being a development-stage company, Aerie has not generated any revenues from product sales yet.
Quarter in Detail
In the reported quarter, research and development expenses declined 11% to $9.8 million as the company completed trials in the U.S. General and administrative expenses increased 47.7% to $14.5 million. The higher operating expenses in the reported quarter were due to expansion of the employee base to support the growth of operations and commercialization preparatory activities, including commercial manufacturing costs for Rhopressa.
Pipeline Update
The company resubmitted new drug application (NDA) for lead candidate Rhopressa 0.02% on Feb 28 and expects a review period of 12 months. We note that Aerie withdrew the Rhopressa NDA filed in September as a third party manufacturing facility in Tampa, FL was not ready for pre-approval inspection by the FDA. The company initiated preparations to bring a second contract manufacturer online in 2018.
The company reported encouraging six-month top-line safety and efficacy results from the phase III trial, ROCKET 4, on Rhopressa. The trial is being conducted to provide adequate safety data for European regulatory filings. Rocket-4 has been successfully completed for submission to the European regulatory authorities.
Apart from Rhopressa, Aerie is evaluating Roclatan, a once-daily, quadruple-action fixed-dose combination of Rhopressa and Xalatan. The company expects top-line 90-day efficacy and safety data from the second phase III clinical trial, Mercury 2, for Roclatan 0.02%/0.005%, in second-quarter 2017. Data from Mercury 1 is expected in third-quarter 2017. If Mercury 1 and Mercury 2 are successful, the NDA for Roclatan is expected to be filed in late 2017 or early 2018.
The company also expects to commence a trial, Mercury 3, in mid-2017, in Europe to support filings there. The trial will be a non-inferiority trial comparing Roclatan to prescribed fixed dose combination of Ganfort (a combination of the bimatoprost along with timolol) in Europe.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
Following the release, investors have witnessed an upward trend in fresh estimates. There has been one revision higher for the current quarter. In the past month, the consensus estimate has shifted down by 13.5%.
Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Price and Consensus
VGM Scores
At this time, the stock has a subpar Growth Score of 'D', though it is lagging a bit on the momentum front with an 'F'. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a grade of 'D' on the value side, putting it in the bottom 40% 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.
Our style scores indicate investors will probably be better served looking elsewhere.
Outlook
While estimates have been trending upward for the stock, the magnitude of this revision indicates a downward shift. It comes with little surprise that the stock has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). We are expecting an above average return from the stock in the next few months.
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Why Is Aerie (AERI) Up 40.4% Since the Last Earnings Report?
It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. . Shares have added about 40.4% 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 the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.
Aerie Posts Wider-Than-Expected Q1 Loss, Expenses Up
Aerie posted first-quarter 2017 loss of $0.76 per share (including stock-based compensation), wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $0.74 but narrower than the year-ago loss of $0.85.
Being a development-stage company, Aerie has not generated any revenues from product sales yet.
Quarter in Detail
In the reported quarter, research and development expenses declined 11% to $9.8 million as the company completed trials in the U.S. General and administrative expenses increased 47.7% to $14.5 million. The higher operating expenses in the reported quarter were due to expansion of the employee base to support the growth of operations and commercialization preparatory activities, including commercial manufacturing costs for Rhopressa.
Pipeline Update
The company resubmitted new drug application (NDA) for lead candidate Rhopressa 0.02% on Feb 28 and expects a review period of 12 months. We note that Aerie withdrew the Rhopressa NDA filed in September as a third party manufacturing facility in Tampa, FL was not ready for pre-approval inspection by the FDA. The company initiated preparations to bring a second contract manufacturer online in 2018.
The company reported encouraging six-month top-line safety and efficacy results from the phase III trial, ROCKET 4, on Rhopressa. The trial is being conducted to provide adequate safety data for European regulatory filings. Rocket-4 has been successfully completed for submission to the European regulatory authorities.
Apart from Rhopressa, Aerie is evaluating Roclatan, a once-daily, quadruple-action fixed-dose combination of Rhopressa and Xalatan. The company expects top-line 90-day efficacy and safety data from the second phase III clinical trial, Mercury 2, for Roclatan 0.02%/0.005%, in second-quarter 2017. Data from Mercury 1 is expected in third-quarter 2017. If Mercury 1 and Mercury 2 are successful, the NDA for Roclatan is expected to be filed in late 2017 or early 2018.
The company also expects to commence a trial, Mercury 3, in mid-2017, in Europe to support filings there. The trial will be a non-inferiority trial comparing Roclatan to prescribed fixed dose combination of Ganfort (a combination of the bimatoprost along with timolol) in Europe.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
Following the release, investors have witnessed an upward trend in fresh estimates. There has been one revision higher for the current quarter. In the past month, the consensus estimate has shifted down by 13.5%.
Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Price and Consensus
Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Price and Consensus | Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Quote
VGM Scores
At this time, the stock has a subpar Growth Score of 'D', though it is lagging a bit on the momentum front with an 'F'. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a grade of 'D' on the value side, putting it in the bottom 40% 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.
Our style scores indicate investors will probably be better served looking elsewhere.
Outlook
While estimates have been trending upward for the stock, the magnitude of this revision indicates a downward shift. It comes with little surprise that the stock has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). We are expecting an above average return from the stock in the next few months.