Nektar Therapeutics Surge 5% As Q4 Results Top Estimates. Loss Narrows

(RTTNews) - Clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) reported Tuesday a loss for the fourth quarter that narrowed from last year, despite a revenue decline, reflecting lower operating costs and expenses, including R&D expenses.

Loss per share for the quarter came in narrower than analysts' expectations by a penny, and quarterly revenues topped their estimates.

"Nektar begins 2015 in a very strong position with the imminent launch of MOVANTIK in the U.S., and the E.U. launch to follow soon thereafter," President and CEO Howard Robin said in a statement.

MOVANTIK, the first approved once-daily oral peripherally-acting mu-opioid receptor antagonist or PAMORA, provides a new treatment option for a common and potentially debilitating condition experienced by millions of adult patients with chronic, non-cancer pains treated with opioid-induced constipation (OIC).

MOVANTIK is the first oral small molecule medicine to be created using Nektar's proprietary polymer chemistry platform and it represents a tremendous breakthrough for its technology.

The San Francisco, California-based company reported a net loss of $45.7 million or $0.35 per share for the fourth quarter, narrower than $47.7 million or $0.41 per share in the prior-year quarter.

On average, eight analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report a loss of $0.36 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenue for the quarter declined to $19.6 million from $31.1 million in the same quarter last year, but topped eight Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of $17.27 million.

Revenues declined primarily due to a decrease in non-cash royalty revenue and license revenue.

Revenue included non-cash royalty revenue, related to the company's 2012 royalty monetization, of $5.2 million, offset by non-cash interest expense.

Total operating costs and expenses in the quarter declined to $57.0 million from $67.0 million last year.

R&D expense was $38.5 million, down from $48.2 million as year ago, primarily due to lower costs related to the Phase 3 study of etirinotecan pegol (NKTR-102) in metastatic breast cancer that is nearing completion.

NKTR closed Tuesday's regular trading session at $13.48, down $0.11 or 0.81% on a volume of 0.97 million shares. However, the stock gained $0.72 or 5.34% in after-hours trading.