Exelixis Inc. (NASDAQ: EXEL) surpassed Q1 earnings and revenue projections. The company reported earnings of $0.27 per share on revenue of $215.5 million. Wall Street expected the biotech company to post earnings of $0.23 per share on revenue of $212.2 million for the recently ended quarter. Exelixis stock, which closed down 1.63% at $19.34 today, was slightly up in the after-hours trading.
GAAP EPS decreased to $0.24 from $0.37, hurt by the decrease in milestone-related revenues and the increases in research and development expenses, selling, general and administrative expenses and the provision for income taxes.
Net product revenues for the quarter increased to $179.6 million from $134.3 million in the year-ago quarter. CABOMETYX net product revenues totaled $175.9 million, compared to $171.6 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2018.
Research and development expenses for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 were $63.3 million, compared to $37.8 million for the comparable period in 2018. The increase in research and development expenses was primarily related to increases in clinical trial costs, personnel expenses and stock-based compensation.
“We continued our efforts to maximize the commercial and clinical potential of cabozantinib through the U.S. launch in advanced hepatocellular cancer in January, as well as the initiation of the COSMIC-313 study announced today,” said CEO Michael Morrissey.
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Last week, Exelixis’ partner Takeda Pharmaceutical applied for the approval to manufacture and sell Cabometyx drug in Japan. As a result of this, Exelixis is expected to receive $10 million milestone payment from Takeda in the second quarter of 2019. Under the terms of collaboration and license agreement, Exelixis received a $50 million upfront payment at the time of signing.
Exelixis stock had lost 19% of its value in the last one month and 6% in the past 52 weeks.