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Bluebird (BLUE) Down 26% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Rebound?
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It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Bluebird Bio (BLUE - Free Report) . Shares have lost about 26% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Bluebird due for a breakout? 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.
Posts Q1 Earnings, Focuses on Zynteglo, Skysona
bluebird reported revenues of $2.4 million in the first quarter, up from $1.9 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenues missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $20 million and our estimate of $3.5 million. The increase of $0.4 million was primarily due to product revenues from Skysona.
The company delivered earnings of 21 cents per share in the first quarter, due to a one-time gain from the company’s second priority review voucher sale (PRV) for $92.9 million. Excluding this gain, the loss per share was 69 cents.
Quarter in Detail
Research and development expenses were reduced by 40.7% to $46.1 million, primarily due to decreased employee compensation, benefits and other headcount-related expenses and a fall in R&D production costs in 2023.
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased slightly to $37.3 million from $36.1 million in the year-ago quarter.
As of Mar 31, 2023, bluebird had cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities and a restricted cash balance of approximately $364 million. Based on current operating plans, bluebird expects its cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and marketable securities to be sufficient to meet its planned operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into the fourth quarter of 2024. This runway includes approximately $45 million in restricted cash.
bluebird was granted two PRVs upon the FDA’s approval of Zynteglo (betibeglogene autotemcel) for the treatment of beta-thalassemia in adult and pediatric patients requiring regular red blood cell transfusions and Skysona (elivaldogene autotemcel) for the treatment of early, active cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy on Aug 17, 2022 and Sep 16, 2022, respectively.
The company entered into a definitive agreement to sell its first PRV for $102 million in November 2022. It entered a final agreement to sell its second PRV for $95 million in January 2023.
Other Updates
Last month, bluebird bio announced that it submitted its biologics license application (BLA) to the FDA for lovo-cel for patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) who are 12 years and older and have a history of vaso-occlusive events. bluebird has requested priority review, which, if granted, would shorten the FDA’s review of the application to six months from the time of filing versus a standard review timeline of 10 months. The company continues to anticipate a commercial launch in early 2024.
bluebird has made significant progress in the launch of Zynteglo with six patient starts (cell collections) for patients with beta-thalassemia. The first commercial infusion has been completed and revenues from Zynteglo are expected to be recognized in the second quarter.
The first commercial infusion for Syksona was completed in March 2023. Cell collection has been completed for three patients to be treated with Skysona. bluebird continues to anticipate 5-10 patient starts this year.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
It turns out, estimates revision flatlined during the past month.
VGM Scores
Currently, Bluebird 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 bottom 20% 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
Bluebird has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
Performance of an Industry Player
Bluebird belongs to the Zacks Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. Another stock from the same industry, Puma Biotech (PBYI - Free Report) , has gained 15.9% over the past month. More than a month has passed since the company reported results for the quarter ended March 2023.
Puma Biotech reported revenues of $52.8 million in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +15.5%. EPS of $0.09 for the same period compares with -$0.08 a year ago.
For the current quarter, Puma Biotech is expected to post earnings of $0.10 per share, indicating a change of -52.4% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate remained unchanged over the last 30 days.
The overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions translate into a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) for Puma Biotech. Also, the stock has a VGM Score of C.
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Bluebird (BLUE) Down 26% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Rebound?
It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Bluebird Bio (BLUE - Free Report) . Shares have lost about 26% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Bluebird due for a breakout? 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.
Posts Q1 Earnings, Focuses on Zynteglo, Skysona
bluebird reported revenues of $2.4 million in the first quarter, up from $1.9 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenues missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $20 million and our estimate of $3.5 million. The increase of $0.4 million was primarily due to product revenues from Skysona.
The company delivered earnings of 21 cents per share in the first quarter, due to a one-time gain from the company’s second priority review voucher sale (PRV) for $92.9 million. Excluding this gain, the loss per share was 69 cents.
Quarter in Detail
Research and development expenses were reduced by 40.7% to $46.1 million, primarily due to decreased employee compensation, benefits and other headcount-related expenses and a fall in R&D production costs in 2023.
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased slightly to $37.3 million from $36.1 million in the year-ago quarter.
As of Mar 31, 2023, bluebird had cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities and a restricted cash balance of approximately $364 million. Based on current operating plans, bluebird expects its cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and marketable securities to be sufficient to meet its planned operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into the fourth quarter of 2024. This runway includes approximately $45 million in restricted cash.
bluebird was granted two PRVs upon the FDA’s approval of Zynteglo (betibeglogene autotemcel) for the treatment of beta-thalassemia in adult and pediatric patients requiring regular red blood cell transfusions and Skysona (elivaldogene autotemcel) for the treatment of early, active cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy on Aug 17, 2022 and Sep 16, 2022, respectively.
The company entered into a definitive agreement to sell its first PRV for $102 million in November 2022. It entered a final agreement to sell its second PRV for $95 million in January 2023.
Other Updates
Last month, bluebird bio announced that it submitted its biologics license application (BLA) to the FDA for lovo-cel for patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) who are 12 years and older and have a history of vaso-occlusive events. bluebird has requested priority review, which, if granted, would shorten the FDA’s review of the application to six months from the time of filing versus a standard review timeline of 10 months. The company continues to anticipate a commercial launch in early 2024.
bluebird has made significant progress in the launch of Zynteglo with six patient starts (cell collections) for patients with beta-thalassemia. The first commercial infusion has been completed and revenues from Zynteglo are expected to be recognized in the second quarter.
The first commercial infusion for Syksona was completed in March 2023. Cell collection has been completed for three patients to be treated with Skysona. bluebird continues to anticipate 5-10 patient starts this year.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
It turns out, estimates revision flatlined during the past month.
VGM Scores
Currently, Bluebird 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 bottom 20% 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
Bluebird has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
Performance of an Industry Player
Bluebird belongs to the Zacks Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. Another stock from the same industry, Puma Biotech (PBYI - Free Report) , has gained 15.9% over the past month. More than a month has passed since the company reported results for the quarter ended March 2023.
Puma Biotech reported revenues of $52.8 million in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +15.5%. EPS of $0.09 for the same period compares with -$0.08 a year ago.
For the current quarter, Puma Biotech is expected to post earnings of $0.10 per share, indicating a change of -52.4% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate remained unchanged over the last 30 days.
The overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions translate into a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) for Puma Biotech. Also, the stock has a VGM Score of C.