Aerie Pharma’s Quarterly Sales Top Analysts’ Estimates; Shares Spike 16%

Shares of Aerie Pharmaceuticals surged 16.3% on Feb. 26 after the ophthalmic pharmaceutical company’s 4Q revenue topped the Street’s estimates.

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Revenue in the fourth quarter surged 23% sequentially to $24.7 million and handily exceeded analysts’ expectations of about $22.36 million. The top-line growth reflected “strong sequential volume growth in our glaucoma franchise and increased net revenue per bottle,” said Aerie (AERI) CEO Vicente Anido. Wholesaler shipments jumped 18% sequentially in 4Q.

Anido further added, “We expect our net revenue per bottle to continue increasing as we proceed through 2021.” (See Aerie Pharmaceuticals stock analysis on TipRanks)

The pharma company reported a 4Q loss of $1 per share, which narrowed from the year-ago period’s loss of $1.21 per share. Analysts had estimated a smaller loss of $0.73 per share.

Aerie has a collaboration with Santen and its first Phase 3 trial for Rhopressa is ongoing in Japan. With regulatory approval for its 2 glaucoma products (Rhopressa and Rocklatan) and positive results from Mercury 3 trial, the company is seeing interest from potential collaborators in Europe.

Following the financial results, Mizuho Securities analyst Difei Yang reiterated a Buy rating and a price target of $28 (52.3% upside potential) on the stock. Yang said, “Aerie’s strong 4Q results underscore its growing operating momentum. Quarterly net pricing increased from $77 to $80 sequentially, and we forecast further gains, projecting a net price per bottle of $82 in 2021.”

Yang added “The company continues to receive inbound European partnership interest, and a partnership announcement in the region could act as a positive catalyst.”

Turning now to the rest of Wall Street, Aerie scores a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 3 Buys and 1 Hold. The average analyst price target of 26.67 implies about 45% upside from current levels. That’s after shares already rallied more than 41% over the past three months.