Osiris Therapeutics Q1 Loss Narrower-Than-Expected - Analyst Blog

Osiris Therapeutics Inc.'s OSIR first quarter 2014 loss was 2 cents per share, a penny wider than the year-ago loss of 1 cent per share. However, first quarter 2014 loss was narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 8 cents per share.

Revenues for the quarter came in at $10.1 million, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9 million and increasing 146% from the year-ago quarter. Revenues increased 25% sequentially reflecting higher volume. Osiris Therapeutics reported sales growth for Grafix as well as Ovation.

Quarterly Details

Research and development (R&D) expenses declined to $0.7 million from $0.9 million in the year-ago period. Lower expenses reflect the completion of the Protocol 302 study which was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of Grafix for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers compared to the standard of care. Going forward, R&D spend will increase as the company conducts additional studies on Grafix.

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased to $7.2 million from $2.4 million in the year-ago period reflecting investment in commercial activities. The company has increased its sales force significantly for the promotion of Grafix.

Osiris Therapeutics received a cash payment of $15 million from Mesoblast related to Prochymal. This marks the third milestone for Osiris Therapeutics under its agreement with Mesoblast. As a reminder, last October, Osiris Therapeutics had sold its culture-expanded mesenchymal stem cell (ceMSC) business including Prochymal (for up to $100 million) to a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mesoblast Limited. Osiris Therapeutics will be entitled to royalty payments as well.

Osiris Therapeutics is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. Some better-ranked stocks in the health care sector include companies like Gilead Sciences Inc. GILD, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ALXN, and Affymetrix Inc. AFFX – while Gilead is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock, Alexion and Affymetrix are Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stocks.