Antares Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: ATRS) is a small cap pharmaceutical innovator quickly rising up the charts. New Jersey-based specialty pharmaceutical company Antares Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRS) has been on a nice run over the past year, but can it keep up the momentum in 2017? Over the past 12 months, shares of ATRS are up a staggering 212.33%. In the first three months of the year, ATRS is up 21.89%.
Shares are currently trading at $2.84, giving the company a stock market capitalization of just over $456 million. Over the most recent 52-week period, shares have traded as low as $0.79 and as high as $2.95. On a YTD basis, shares are up 21.89%. And over the past 6 months, shares are up 69.05%. In short, this stock has been on a steady climb up over just about every time period that matters.
In mid-March, the company presented its 4Q 2016 numbers, giving investors greater insight into what’s going on at the company. For the quarter, the company posted a negative EPS of $0.03 on a loss of $4.5 million. There was some good news in there, though, since the company reported that quarterly revenue was up 20% compared to the year-earlier period, from $11.8 million to $14.2 million. The company continues to hold no debt and boasts impressive liquidity. And, even though the company posted an EPS of ($0.03), it still outpaced analyst estimates of ($0.04).
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What excites investors the most are all the growth catalysts surrounding Antares Pharma. The company, which has been around since its founding in 1978, had been known until recently primarily for its development and manufacturing of pressured-assisted injector devices (both with and without needles) for self-injecting drugs. This includes a number of devices like the Vibex, QuickShot, BigShot and Multi-Dose Pen. The company refers to these as its autoinjector and pen device platforms.
What has changed, though, is that the company is now moving ahead with self-administered parenteral pharmaceutical products that build on these device platforms for conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and migraines. The company has had 4 products approved by the FDA in just the last 5 years (Otrexup, Sumatriptan, Zoma-Jet, Gelnique).
In June 2016, for example, the company launched the Sumatriptan Autoinjector, which delivers the generic equivalent to Imitrex in a single-dose, prefilled syringe autoinjector. The company partnered with Teva Pharmaceuticals on this for marketing and distribution. Sumatriptan is for the treatment of acute migraines and headaches. The launch and growth of Sumatriptan is a big win for the company.
The company’s latest pharmaceutical project is the development of a single-dose auto-injector for Otrexup (methotrexate). This is for the treatment of severe, active rheumatoid arthritis in adults. It can also be used to control the symptoms of severe, resistant, disabling psoriasis in adults when other treatments are ineffective. Thus far, the sales outlook for Otrexup is positive.
What all this means, of course, is that Antares Pharma seems to have found a way to leverage its innovative device platforms to create new revenue-generating products. And these products can be used to treat relatively common health problems – like arthritis and headaches – so it’s easy to see their overall market potential.
There are some hurdles ahead, however. It’s important to keep an eye on the FDA approval process. For example, while the FDA approved VibexQST, the company’s weekly, self-administered testosterone replacement therapy, it also appeared to place limits on the use of the approved drug. That tends to dampen analyst estimates for how much it could impact top-line revenue.
Putting it all together, it looks like ATRS is starting to see some revenue lift with some great catalysts moving forward. The company has a strong balance sheet and a strong track record of getting FDA approvals. And even the technical indicators seem to favor ATRS: the 50-day moving average is $2.57, well below the company’s current stock price of $2.84. This looks like a stock that’s about to test its 52-week high of $2.95. If it breaks through that level, there’s no telling how much higher it could head. For more news on Antares Pharma (ATRS) and other fast-moving penny stocks, please subscribe to OracleDispatch.com below.
