By Sarah Roden
Rohit Vanjani of Oppenheimer rates stocks in the biotechnology sector and is one of the top 25 analysts rated on TipRanks. Yesterday, Vanjani made two news ratings for Opko Health (OPK, Financial) and OvaScience (OVAS, Financial).
Vanjani maintained a Perform rating on Opko Health Inc, though he did not provide a price target. The pharmaceutical and diagnostic company posted first quarter earnings on May 11, reporting consolidated revenue of $30.1 million, higher than Vanjani’s estimate of $20.4 million. However, Opko reported a net loss of $117.1 million for the quarter compared to a net loss of $44.6 million in the same quarter of last year. The company also posted a loss of $(0.26) per share, compared to $(0.11) in the same quarter of last year.
Opko beat Vanjani’s revenue estimate thanks to a collaboration deal with Pfizer, which resulted in a $295 million upfront payment. Vanjani commented, “Shares of OPKO have traded flattish in the current quarter. We believe the recent EirGen acquisition was incrementally positive and could provide a small catalyst,” referring to Opko’s acquisition of the specialty pharmaceutical company. The analyst continued, “OPKO paid roughly $135M in cash and stock for an asset that potentially provides manufacturing capabilities for vertical integration, tax incentives, existing revenue and cash flow, as well as pipeline products. We should begin to see the benefit of EirGen in the revenue line beginning in 2Q15.”
Rohit Vanjani has rated Opko health 10 times since May 2014, earning a 100% success rate recommending the stock with a +69.2% average return per OPK rating.
The analyst also provided a rating on OvaScience yesterday after the biopharmaceutical company released first quarter earnings on May 11. Vanjani maintained an Outperform rating on the stock with a $60 price target. The fertility company was happy to announce that the first baby had been born using the Augment treatment. Augment is OvaScience’s therapy to improve the health of eggs in women undergoing in vitro fertilization.
OvaScience posted a net loss for the quarter of $17.2 million, or $(0.65) per share compared to a net loss of $7.8 million and $(0.41) in the same quarter a year prior. Aside from revenue, Vanjani believes it is more important to focus on the future of Augment. He explained, “OvaScience maintained its guidance for 1,000 cycles in 2015, which we view as positive.”
Although Vanjani usually makes cunning recommendations in the biotechnology sector, he is not always accurate rating OvaScience. Vanjani has rated OvaScience 14 times since May 2014, earning only a 20% success rate earning the stock with an average loss of -6.2% per rating. However, most analysts agree with this latest rating as the top analyst consensus for OvaScience on TipRanks is Strong Buy.
Overall, Vanjani has a 73% success rate recommending stocks with a +35.2% average return per rating.
