Shares in Aerie Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:AERI) held steady today after the eye-drug maker missed earnings expectations on Wall Street with its fourth-quarter and full-year financial results.
The Durham, N.C.-based company posted a net loss of -$58.5 million, or -$1.60 per share, for the 3 months ended Dec.31.
Adjusted to exclude 1-time items, earnings per share were -$1.38, behind consensus on The Street, where analysts were looking for -$1.27.
For the full year, Aerie posted a net loss of -$145.1 million, or -$4.11 per share. Adjusted EPS were -$3.37, behind the -$3.25 consensus from The Street.
AERI shares were trading at $50.80 apiece today in mid-morning activity, down -0.7%.
The FDA approved Aerie’s glaucoma drug, Rhopressa, in December. The win came after an expert panel voted 9-1 in the drug’s favor. Studies have found that Rhopressa lowers elevated intraocular pressure in the eye, but analysts have noted that the twice-daily generic timolol ophthalmic solution 0.5% is more effective for patients with severe cases of glaucoma.
“We are all very proud of our 2017 accomplishments, especially the early FDA approval of Rhopressa. Our energy is now focused on managing a successful Rhopressa launch. With that, we are delighted to provide our net revenue guidance for full-year 2018, which reflects the tremendous efforts we have made thus far in preparing for commercialization, including excellent progress regarding market access. We expect to have our sales force of 100 territory managers in place and fully trained for our anticipated mid-second quarter 2018 launch of Rhopressa,” chairman & CEO Vicente Anido, Jr., said in prepared remarks.
“We are entering the year very well financed, allowing us to continue to build this company into what we believe will become a major ophthalmic pharmaceutical company with global reach.”
