By Senad Karaahmetovic
Shares of Seagen (NASDAQ:SGEN) are trading 7% higher in pre-market Thursday trading after the company delivered a narrower-than-expected loss and solid revenue numbers.
Seagen posted a loss per share of $0.50, much better than the expected loss per share of $1.03. Revenue increased by 23% to $528.15 million, beating the analyst consensus of $479.84M.
"We delivered total revenue of nearly $2 billion in 2022, reflecting 25 percent growth compared to 2021 driven by strong demand for our portfolio of approved products," said David Epstein, Chief Executive Officer of Seagen. "We made excellent progress in growing our four marketed brands."
For 2023, Seagen sees revenue at $2.19B (up or down $50M), missing the consensus of $2.3B.
"We anticipate multiple key data and regulatory catalysts in 2023, which will provide a path for us to build a more global oncology leader with the potential to address the needs of still larger populations of cancer patients," added Epstein.
At least two analysts upgraded Seagen shares after earnings. Raymond James analysts moved to Strong Buy, citing expected clinical updates during 2023 and earnings. The three key factors underpinning a strong view on SGEN are:
- The upcoming potential accelerated approval of Padcev;
- Data from HER2CLIMB-02 could expand the Tukysa label; and
- Early clinical pipeline readouts will inform the long-term growth strategy for the company beyond the big four brands.
Evercore ISI analysts upgraded Seagen from In Line to Outperform with a price target of $175.00 (from $140.00).
"While we'd prefer a better entry point, we don't think we'll get it," the analysts wrote in an upgrade note.