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Mirati (MRTX) Up 4.1% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Continue?

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A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Mirati . Shares have added about 4.1% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Mirati 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 catalysts.

Mirati Q1 Loss Wider, Revenues Miss

Mirati incurred loss of $2.02 per share in the first quarter of 2020 which was wider than a loss of $1.17 per share in the year-ago period as well as the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $1.65.

Revenues in the quarter, comprising license and collaboration revenues, were $0.3 million, much less than $1.2 million in the year-ago quarter as well as the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1 million.

General and administrative expenses rose 83.7%% to $18.0 million due to higher share-based compensation expense and employee-related costs in the quarter. Research & development expenses rose 109.6% to $71.7 million due to costs related to pipeline development and higher salary costs.

The company ended the quarter with $695.4 million in cash and cash equivalents, compared with $415.5 million as of Dec 31, 2019. The higher cash resulted from net proceeds of $324 million from a public offering of common stock completed in January 2020.

Pipeline Update

The company said that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, its clinical programs were progressing as planned including enrollment in the phase II pivotal arm of KRYSTAL study evaluating MRTX849 monotherapy in second-line NSCLC.

Along with the earnings release, the company announced updated overall survival (OS) data from the ongoing phase II study (MRTX-500) of sitravatinib in combination with Opdivo. The data showed that median OS was 18.1 months in the subset of patients who received the combination as either 2nd or 3rd line of therapy after progressing on treatment with a checkpoint inhibitor.

In the quarter, enrollment also began in the phase II combination study of MRTX 849 with Novartis' SHP2 inhibitor, TNO155 in second or third-line NSCLC and CRC.




 

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

It turns out, estimates review have trended downward during the past month. The consensus estimate has shifted -19.97% due to these changes.

VGM Scores

Currently, Mirati has a poor Growth Score of F, however its Momentum Score is doing a lot better with a B. However, the stock was allocated a grade of F on the value side, putting it in the fifth quintile 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.

Outlook

Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of this revision indicates a downward shift. Notably, Mirati has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.

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