VIVUS (VVUS) Q2 Loss In Line With Estimates, Sales Down Y/Y

VIVUS Inc. (NASDAQ:VVUS) reported a loss of 13 cents per share in the second quarter of 2017, which was wider than a loss of 11 cents in the year-ago period. However, the loss was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Quarterly revenues decreased 18.5% to $11.2 million from the year-ago period.

Shares of the biotech company fell more than 8% on Friday on dismal revenue numbers. In fact, so far this year, VIVUS shares have underperformed the industry. The stock fell 11.3% during the period, while the industry witnessed a gain of 8.9%.

Quarter in Detail

The company’s weight management drug Qsymia generated net product sales of $8.5 million, down 33.2% from the year-ago period due to reduction in Qsymia inventory by wholesalers and change in revenue recognition methodology.

Supply and royalty revenues from Stendra/Spedra were $2.7 million, up 163.8% from the year-ago period due to an increase in supply revenues as a number of orders placed by commercialization partners in this quarter were better than the year-ago period.

General and administrative expense was $11.6 million, down 22.4% year over year mainly attributable to cost control initiatives undertaken by the company. Research and development expense decreased almost 7.5% to $1 million in the reported quarter due to cost savings efforts related to Qsymia regulatory requirements, partially offset by development of tacrolimus for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

Subsequent to the quarter in Jul 2017, the company announced that it has entered into a settlement agreement with Actavis (NYSE:AGN) Laboratories, a subsidiary of generic company Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NYSE:TEVA) , thereby resolving a three-year old patent litigation related to the launch of generic versions of its weight management drug, Qsymia.

In Jan 2017, VIVUS acquired exclusive, worldwide rights for the development and commercialization of tacrolimus and ascomycin from Selten Pharma, Inc. for the treatment of PAH and related vascular diseases. It also reacquired the commercial rights to Stendra in Africa, the Middle East, Turkey and the Commonwealth of Independent States, including Russia from Sanofi (NYSE:SNY) in March.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

VIVUS carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in the health care sector is Aduro Biotech, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADRO) , which carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Aduro Biotech’s loss per share estimates narrowed from $1.46 to $1.36 for 2017 over the last 30 days. The company delivered positive earnings surprises in two of the four trailing quarters with an average beat of 2.53%. The company’s shares are up 7.4% so far this year.

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