Keryx (KERX) Posts Wider Q3 Loss, Lags Sales, Shares Down

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:KERX) ) is a Boston-based biopharmaceutical company working in the field of renal diseases.

The company’s only product is Auryxia (ferric citrate) which is marketed in the United States since 2014for the control of serum phosphorus levels in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on dialysis. In Sep 2015, Keryx gained EU approval for Fexeric (EU trade name for Auryxia) for the control of elevated serum phosphorus levels, or hyperphosphatemia, in adult patients with CKD, including dialysis and non-dialysis dependent CKD. Keryx’s top line comprises license revenues and revenues earned from Auryxia sales.

Concurrent with the earnings release, the company announced that FDA granted an approval for an additional indication of Auryxia to treat adults with iron deficiency anemia and chronic kidney disease, not on dialysis. Keryx claims that Auryxia isthe only oral treatment option available for this indication. Keryx’s earnings track record has been disappointing so far. Over the four trailing quarters, the company has posted an average negative earnings surprise of 34%.

Currently, Keryx has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), but that could definitely change following the company’s earnings report which was just released. We have highlighted some of the key stats from this just-revealed announcement below:

Earnings: Keryx’s third-quarter 2017 loss was wider-than-expected. The company posted a loss of 20 cents per share wider than consensus estimate of a loss of 17 cents.

Revenues: Revenues missed expectations. Keryx posted revenues of $15 million, also below the consensus estimate of $19 million.

Key Stats: Auryxia net U.S. product sales came in at $13.6 million, down from $14.1 million in the sequentially prior quarter. The net U.S. product sales in the quarter were lower than management expectations due to an unfavorable change in the payer mix and lower-than-expected growth in prescriptions,

2017 Guidance:Keryx withdrew its 2017 financial guidance as it could not estimate its future demand from the recent label expansion of Auryxia.

Share Price Impact: The shares were down almost 9% in pre-market trading.

Check back later for our full write up on KERX earnings report later!

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