BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: BCRX) is a biotechnology company focused on improving the lives of people living with complement-mediated and other rare diseases. The Company leverages its expertise in designing to develop first-in-class oral small-molecule and protein therapeutics to target difficult-to-treat diseases. Its marketed products include oral, once-daily ORLADEYO for the prevention of hereditary angioedema (HAE) attacks and RAPIVAB (peramivir injection) for the treatment of acute uncomplicated influenza in the United States.

Recent Business and Financial Updates

• Innovative Treatment Revenue and Growth: ORLADEYO® (berotralstat), an oral, once-daily treatment for the prevention of Hereditary Angioedema (HAE) attacks, demonstrated significant revenue growth in the first quarter of 2024, reaching USD 88.9 million, marking a 30 percent increase year-over-year (y-o-y). This surge was attributed to the accelerated transition of patients from free to paid drug status by the U.S. commercial team, generating higher-than-expected ORLADEYO revenue. Additionally, strong new patient growth persisted, with the United States witnessing the highest number of new prescriptions in the past two quarters since the drug's initial launch. Notably, international markets also contributed to the revenue stream, accounting for 10 percent of global ORLADEYO net revenues in the first quarter.
• Real-World Evidence and Pipeline Expansion: New real-world evidence showcasing substantial reductions in healthcare resource utilization among HAE patients following ORLADEYO initiation is set to be presented in a poster at the 2024 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research conference (ISPOR) on May 8. Looking ahead, the company aims to continue its success with ORLADEYO by expanding its rare disease pipeline. Key milestones in the next 18 months include progressing the proof-of-concept trial with BCX10013, completing enrollment in the APeX-P pediatric trial to support an ORLADEYO label expansion, and advancing BCX17725, a KLK-5 inhibitor for Netherton syndrome, into clinical trials.
• Financial Performance and Operational Highlights: In the first quarter of 2024, total revenues surged to USD 92.8 million, compared to USD 68.8 million in the same period of the previous year, primarily driven by robust ORLADEYO net revenue. Research and development (R&D) expenses decreased to USD 46.5 million, attributed to reduced spending on certain programs, while selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses rose to USD 59.4 million due to increased investments in commercial and international operations. The operating loss for the quarter adjusted to USD 0.8 million, excluding non-cash stock compensation. Despite a decrease in interest expenses to USD 24.5 million, net loss narrowed to USD 35.4 million compared to USD 53.3 million in the first quarter of 2023. Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and investments totaled USD 338.4 million at the end of March 2024, with a net cash utilization of USD 52.4 million for the quarter, driven by debt service and compensation expenses. The company anticipates normalizing operating cash use for the remainder of 2024 and expects total cash to exceed USD 300 million by the year-end.

Technical Observation (on the daily chart):

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) over a 14-day period stands upward trending inside overbought levels with value of 73.39, with expectations of a consolidation or a correction in the stock price. Additionally, the stock's current positioning is above both the 50-period SMA and 200-period SMA, which may serve as dynamic short to medium-term support levels.

As per the above-mentioned price action, recent key business and financial updates, momentum in the stock over the last month, and technical indicators analysis, a ‘WATCH’ rating has been given to BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: BCRX) at the current market price of USD 6.46 as of May 15, 2024, at 07:40 am PDT. 

Individuals can evaluate the stock based on the support and resistance levels provided in the report in case of keen interest taking into consideration the risk-reward scenario. 

Markets are trading in a highly volatile zone currently due to certain macro-economic issues and prevailing geopolitical tensions. Therefore, it is prudent to follow a cautious approach while investing.

Related Risk: This report may be looked at from a high-risk perspective and a recommendation is provided for a short duration. This report is solely based on technical parameters, and the fundamental performance of the stocks has not been considered in the decision-making process. Other factors which could impact the stock prices include market risks, regulatory risks, interest rates risks, currency risks, social and political instability risks etc. 

Note 1: Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Note 2: The reference date for all price data, currency, technical indicators, support, and resistance level is May 15, 2024. The reference data in this report has been partly sourced from REFINITIV.

Note 3: Investment decisions should be made depending on an individual's appetite for upside potential, risks, holding duration, and any previous holdings. An 'Exit' from the stock can be considered if the Target Price mentioned as per the Valuation and or the technical levels provided has been achieved and is subject to the factors discussed above.

Note 4: Target Price refers to a price level that the stock is expected to reach as per the relative valuation method and or technical analysis taking into consideration both short-term and long-term scenarios.

Note 5: ‘Kalkine reports are prepared based on the stock prices captured either from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NASDAQ Capital Markets (NASDAQ), and or REFINITIV. Typically, all sources (NYSE, NASDAQ, or REFINITIV) may reflect stock prices with a delay which could be a lag of 15-20 minutes. There can be no assurance that future results or events will be consistent with the information provided in the report. The information is subject to change without any prior notice.