Rigel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RIGL) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates 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, topping the consensus estimate 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 Stock Performance

Shares of RIGL stock traded up $1.27 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 333,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 325,475. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $715.95 million, a PE ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a fifty day moving average of $36.08 and a 200-day moving average of $32.95. Rigel Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $21.87 and a 52 week high of $52.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kamil Ali-Jackson sold 2,500 shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals 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 sale, the director directly owned 10,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 10.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rigel Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in RIGL. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 400.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,275 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Rigel Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $62,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 120.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 1,205 shares during the last quarter. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in Rigel Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Rigel Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $96,000. 66.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on RIGL shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 target price (up from $69.00) on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 target price 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 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 MarketBeat, Rigel Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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).