Rigel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RIGL) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Rigel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RIGL) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The biotechnology company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.79, Zacks reports. Rigel Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 47.99% and a net margin of 121.50%.

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 Price Performance

Shares of RIGL traded up $1.27 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.70. 333,725 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 325,475. The stock has a market cap of $715.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $36.08 and a 200-day moving average of $32.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 2.62. Rigel Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $21.87 and a 52 week high of $52.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kamil Ali-Jackson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $87,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $354,375. This trade represents a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 10.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rigel Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RIGL. State Street Corp lifted its position in Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 96.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,091,223 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $46,737,000 after buying an additional 536,905 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 309.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 431,460 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $18,479,000 after buying an additional 326,159 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 63.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 601,333 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $17,036,000 after buying an additional 232,383 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 110.6% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 360,966 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,226,000 after acquiring an additional 189,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 474.6% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 220,298 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,241,000 after acquiring an additional 181,956 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research cut Rigel Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective (up from $69.00) on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.50.

About Rigel Pharmaceuticals

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).