Alnylam (ALNY) Reports Preliminary Onpattro Revenues For Q4

Shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALNY) rose 8.75% after the company announced its preliminary fourth-quarter 2018 global net product revenues for the company’s lead drug, Onpattro, and provided additional updates on the product’s commercial launch. However, shares of Alnylam fell 36.7% in the past year compared with the industry’s decline of 18.8%.

We remind investors that in August 2018, Onpattro (patisiran) received regulatory approvals in the United States and Europe for the treatment of hereditary transthyretin-mediated (hATTR) amyloidosis in adults. Onpattro is the first and only FDA-approved treatment for this indication.

Per the company, the unaudited fourth-quarter 2018 global net product revenues of Onpattro were $11-$12 million, with more than 200 patients receiving treatment with commercial Onpattro in the United States and EU, since launch. This reflects strong patient and physician demand, and very good commercial execution by Alnylam’s U.S. and EU teams. About 550 patients worldwide, including patients on commercial drug, patients in clinical studies and those in the company’s global Expanded Access Program (EAP), were being treated with Onpattro. In 2019, the company expects to continue its global launch of Onpattro and potentially expand the label for the drug to include ATTR amyloidosis patients with cardiomyopathy.

Also, the company is optimistic about its late-stage candidates and hopes to achieve significant milestones from them.

Alnylam also reported that on Dec 31, 2018, it had cash, cash equivalents and marketable debt securities, and restricted investments (excluding equity securities) of approximately $1.1 billion.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Alnylam currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks worth considering are Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc. (NASDAQ:ADAP) , Axovant Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:AXON) and Editas Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ:EDIT) . While Adaptimmune and Axovant sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Editas carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Adaptimmune’s loss per share estimates have narrowed from 94 cents to 93 cents for 2018 and from $1.23 to $1.22 for 2019 in the past 60 days.The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in one of the trailing four quarters, with average of 44.81%.

Axovant’s loss per share estimates have narrowed from $1.68 to $1.25 for 2019 and from $1.34 to $1.03 for 2020 in the past 60 days.

Editas’ loss per share estimates have narrowed from $3.00 to $2.18 for 2018 and from $3.36 to $2.84 for 2019 in the past 90 days.The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in two of the trailing four quarters, with average of 10.85%.

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