Intrexon (XON) Q4 Loss Narrower Than Expected, Revenues Beat

Intrexon Corporation (NYSE:XON) reported adjusted loss of 17 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2017, which was narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 31 cents.

Total revenues came in at $77 million, up 67.4% year over year. Reported revenues beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $49 million.

Over an year, the stock declined 45.2%, as against the industry’s gain of 0.1%.

Quarter in Detail

Intrexon’s sales primarily consist of collaboration and licensing revenues as well as product and service revenues.

Collaboration and licensing revenues increased significantly by 102.7% to $56.2 million year over year. The increase was due to the recognition of previously deferred revenue totaling $28.9 million related to the company's collaboration with ZIOPHARM (NASDAQ:ZIOP) for the treatment of graft-versus-host disease. The collaboration was however mutually terminated in December 2017.

While product revenues came in at $7.8 million, up 1.5% from the year-ago period, service revenues amounted to $12.7 million, up 23.3% year over year.

Intrexon follows a business model under which it commercializes its technologies through exclusive channel collaborations (ECC), licensing agreements and joint ventures with collaborators that have market and product development expertise as well as sales and marketing capabilities to bring new and improved products and processes to market. Such agreements provide the company with funds in the form of technology access fees along with milestones and other payments.

Meanwhile, the company is developing several candidates in partnership with other companies.

Intrexon’s collaborator, ZIOPHARM, announced the dosing of first patient in a new phase I study of its gene therapy Ad-RTS-hIL-12 + veledimex for the treatment of pediatric brain tumors.

Furthermore, the company’s collaborator Fibrocell Science, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCSC) obtained allowance from the FDA to commence enrollment of pediatric patients in the phase II portion of its phase I/II study of FCX-007, its gene therapy candidate for the treatment of recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB). Fibrocell also submitted an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) with the FDA for FCX-013, its gene therapy candidate for the treatment of moderate to severe localized scleroderma.

Intrexon structured its principal healthcare assets into two separate wholly owned subsidiaries – Precigen, Inc., a gene and cell therapy company developing precision medicines, and ActoBio Therapeutics, Inc., a company focused, via its proprietary ActoBiotics platform, on therapeutic delivery of biologics to the site of disease.

2017 Results

Revenue in 2017 amounted to $231 million, up 21% year over year. Results beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $202.7 million.

Zacks Rank & Stock to Consider

Intrexon carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

A better-ranked health care stocks in the same space is Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Ligand’s earnings per share estimates have moved up $3.54 to $4.15 for 2018 over the last 30 days. The company pulled off positive earnings surprises in three of the trailing four quarters, with an average beat of 24.88%. The share price of the company has increased 51.6% over an year.

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