Biohaven Pharmaceutical (BHVN) crushed Wall Street's expectations for second-quarter sales of migraine drug Nurtec on Tuesday, leading BHVN stock to pop.
The company pre-announced $93 million in sales of Nurtec orally dissolving tablets, or ODT. The Street forecast called for $54.7 million, Piper Sandler analyst Christopher Raymond said in a report to clients. Nurtec is a migraine treatment, and it gained approval in May to prevent migraines.
"We thought there would be second-quarter Nurtec upside, but not this much upside," he said.
On the stock market today, BHVN stock jumped 13.6% to 112.25.
BHVN Stock Surges On Strong Quarter
Nurtec belongs to a class of drugs that target the calcitonin gene-related peptide, or CGRP, tied to migraines. Amgen (AMGN), Eli Lilly (LLY), Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) and Lundbeck make injectable drugs. Nurtec is the only oral medicine in its class, and it trailed drugs from Amgen, Lilly and Teva to the market.
Since its launch in March 2020, Nurtec ODT has generated about $200 million in sales, Biohaven said in a news release. That accounts for more than 75,000 prescriptions. In the first half of 2021, Nurtec has generated about $137 million in sales, Piper Sandler's Raymond said.
"It is evident that fiscal year 2021 consensus (estimate) of $250 million and perhaps our own $274 million estimate will prove much too conservative," he said.
He kept his overweight rating and 110 price target on BHVN stock.
Migraine Prevention Not A Factor Yet
Wedbush analyst Laura Chico noted the recent approval for Nurtec ODT in preventing migraines likely had little impact on the pre-announced results.
"Prevention (is) not even really a factor yet," she said in a report. "As we look ahead we continue to see the acute treatment market providing the bigger impact to valuation. However, the prevention label is important to help facilitate prescribing and maintain differentiation."
She has an outperform rating on BHVN stock, and boosted her price target to 121 from 95.
Piper Sandler's Raymond noted Biohaven is also working on an intranasal migraine drug called zavegepant. He expects final-phase test results before year-end.
"We think Biohaven is emerging as a major migraine player," he said.
The news sent BHVN stock to a record high. Shares are near a profit-taking zone after breaking out of a double bottom base with a buy point at 93.64 last month, according to MarketSmith.com.
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