AVEO Pharmaceuticals (AVEO) Q4 Earnings Beat, Revenues Lag
AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. AVEO incurred fourth-quarter 2018 loss of 3 cents per share, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 6 cents and also the year-ago loss of 8 cents.
AVEO's top line comprises collaboration and licensing revenues plus partnership royalties. Total revenues in the reported quarter were approximately $1.5 million compared with $0.08 million reported in fourth-quarter 2017. Moreover, revenues missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.5 million.
For 2018, AVEO generated revenues of approximately $5.4 million, reflecting a decline of 28.9% on a year-over-year basis.
Shares of AVEO have plummeted 62.8% so far this year versus the industry's increase of 14.4%.
AVEO's Fotivda (tivozanib) is the first approved drug in the company's portfolio. It was approved in the EU in August 2017 for the first-line treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The company is focused on launching the medicine across various European countries.
Research & development expenses were down 8.8% year over year to $5.2 million. However, general and administrative expenses increased 8.3% year over year to $2.6 million.
Cash Guidance
AVEO expects that its present cash resources of $24.4 million along with $7.5 million raised from the sales under its agreement with SVB Leerink this February will allow the company to fund its planned operations through the first quarter of 2019.
In January 2019, AVEO faced a major setback when it had to delay its submission of a new drug application (NDA), seeking approval for Fotivda. The company decided not to file an NDA in the United States after the FDA informed that it was not satisfied with the preliminary overall survival (OS) data reported along with the top-line TIVO-3 study data on progression-free-survival last November. Shares of the company plunged significantly back then.
The phase III TIVO-3 study evaluated Fotivda in highly refractory advanced or metastatic RCC patients compared with Bayer AG's BAYRY Nexavar (sorafenib).
Previously, the company intended to submit the NDA in the first half of 2019. AVEO had planned a final analysis of OS in August 2019. Data from this interim analysis will be available during the fourth quarter of 2019.
Last November, AVEO announced that it will earn a $2-million milestone fee from EUSA Pharma, triggered by the commercial launch and reimbursement of Fotivda in Germany.
Last December, AVEO entered into a collaboration deal with AstraZeneca AZN to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the latter's Imfinzi in combination with its Fotivda. The phase I/II study will evaluate the combo for treating first-line hepatocellular carcinoma. The phase I part of the program is expected to begin in 2019.
AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Quote
Zacks Rank & Key Pick
AVEO currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A bettter-ranked stock in the biotech sector is Celgene Corporation CELG, which sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Celgene's earnings estimates have moved 3.8% north for 2019 and 3.9% for 2020 over the past 60 days. The stock has surged 37.8% so far this year.
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