Repligen stock hits new yearly high

Repligen (RGEN) stock touched a new yearly high of $47.87 after agreeing with Navigo Proteins for the advancement of exclusive novel affinity ligands used in a monoclonal antibody, or mAb, and non-mAb downstream purification processes. The bioprocessing company’s stock is now moving forward as investors turned bullish on signs of momentum.

Repligen and Navigo will co-develop a portfolio of next-generation ligands, utilizing Navigo’s proprietary Precision Capturing technology platform. In addition, Repligen agreed with Purolite Life Sciences to supply its next-generation Protein A ligand, NGL-Impact A. This was developed as part of Repligen’s collaboration with Navigo Proteins.

During the recently-completed first-quarter, the company posted a 12% increase in earnings helped by over 90% jump in sales of its direct filtration and chromatography products. Also, Repligen lifted its revenue and earnings outlook for the full year 2018, backed by its strong end markets and robust demand for single-use and flexible bioprocessing technologies.

The stock is now moving forward as investors turned bullish on signs of momentum.

Repligen had faced cumulative losses for over a period of time that’s known as the accumulated deficit. But this deficit, as of March 31, 2018, narrowed by 8.8% from December 31, 2017. The company has a total debt of $99.25 million and total debt-to-equity of 16.78. It has a return on assets of 3.07% and a return on equity of 7.46%.

For the second quarter of 2018, market analysts are expecting the company to post a 10% decline in earnings despite a 42.40% growth in revenue. Analysts are predicting a 2.90% growth for the current year and a 19.70% jump in the next year. For the next five years, the growth estimates are at 25% per annum.

On the recommendation trends basis, five of the six analysts are maintaining a “strong buy” or “buy” rating with an average price target of $47.83. The total number of shares floating in the market is 38.42 million with 12.27% were held by insiders and 90.17% held by institutions.

Shares of the life sciences company jumped 31% year-to-date and 15% in the past one year. The stock had been trading between $29.56 and $47.87 for the past 52 weeks.