Rigel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RIGL) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.79 EPS

Rigel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RIGL) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The biotechnology company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.79, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $78.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.27 million. Rigel Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 25.27% and a net margin of 116.30%.

Here are the key takeaways from Rigel Pharmaceuticals’ conference call:

• Commercial revenue grew 14% year over year to $67 million in Q2, led by record TAVALISSE sales of $47.4 million and REZLIDHIA growth of 27% to $8.9 million.
• Rigel expects to make VEPPANU available in mid-August, ahead of its initial schedule, and views the FDA-approved breast cancer therapy as a potential market-leading product and its largest future revenue driver. However, the company is not yet providing VEPPANU sales guidance.
• VEPPANU’s VERITAC-2 results showed median progression-free survival of 5.0 months versus 2.1 months for fulvestrant, with a hazard ratio of 0.57, while discontinuations and dose reductions remained low at 3% and 2%, respectively.
• R289’s dose-expansion study in lower-risk MDS is enrolling, with top-line data expected by year-end; earlier data showed 33% of evaluable patients achieved at least eight weeks of red-blood-cell transfusion independence, but the dataset remains small and preliminary.
• Rigel ended the quarter with $95.3 million in cash and short-term investments, down from $155 million at year-end, while VEPPANU carries a $70 million upfront payment, up to $320 million in potential payments, tiered royalties in the mid-teens to mid-20s, and up to $40 million of development funding obligations.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of RIGL stock traded down $1.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $39.32. 92,673 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 376,991. The company has a quick ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.97. Rigel Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $24.95 and a 12 month high of $52.24. The company has a market cap of $727.42 million, a P/E ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.16.

Insider Activity at Rigel Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Kamil Ali-Jackson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $87,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,125 shares in the company, valued at $354,375. This trade represents a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 10.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rigel Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RIGL. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 400.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,275 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its position in Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 120.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,205 shares during the period. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in Rigel Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Rigel Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RIGL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Rigel Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rigel Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.50.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in South San Francisco, California. Founded in 2003, Rigel focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel small molecule therapeutics targeting immune, hematologic and oncologic diseases. Leveraging a proprietary chemistry platform and expertise in signal transduction pathways, the company aims to address significant unmet medical needs in both rare and common disorders.

Rigel’s lead product, fostamatinib (commercially known as Tavalisse®), is an oral spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) inhibitor approved in the United States for the treatment of adult patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP).