Is Pernix Therapeutics in a Race to Zero?

Health and Healthcare

Published: May 5, 2016 1:40 pm

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 9:48 am

Pernix Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PTX) saw its shares hit a 52-week low in regular trading on Thursday after it reported its first-quarter financial results. Seeing this stock’s performance year to date (down 64%) and over the past year (down 83%), it seems like this company is on a race to zero, unless something happens and fast.

The company posted a net loss of $0.35 per share on $32.5 million in revenue. Thomson Reuters consensus estimates had called for a net loss of $0.06 on revenue of $44.55 million. In the same period of last year, Pernix reported a net loss of $0.11 and $33.89 million in revenue.

Pernix went as far in this report to withdraw its prior 2016 financial guidance, which definitely hurt investors opinions of this stock. The company intends to update its guidance upon the conclusion of the following initiatives.

The Pernix Prescriptions Direct (PPD) program continued to expand this quarter, with over 10,000 patients enrolled since the program was initiated. The average weekly growth in prescriptions holds at 16% since the launch in August 2015. Currently PPD represents 11% of Treximet and 6% of Silenor weekly total prescriptions.