Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOR) shares rallied 24.1% to $32.26 after the drug developer late Tuesday reported second-quarter income above expectations. Volume for the stock totaled 6.7 million shares, or nearly seven times its daily average.
An AP story quoted the Anaheim-based drug company as saying Tuesday that its profit jumped 49% in the second quarter as a strong pickup in prescriptions of the multiple sclerosis treatment H.P. Acthar Gel helped boost revenue to record levels.
The company reported net income of $13.9 million, or 21 cents a share, for the three months ended June 30. That compares with net income of $9.3 million, or 14 cents a share, in the same period last year.
Excluding certain non-cash expenses, the company’s earnings amounted to 23 cents a share, Questcor said.
Revenue grew by 62% to $46 million, versus $28.3 million a year earlier.
Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting, on average, net income of 20 cents a share on a profit of $42.1 million.
AP also said Questcor’s shipments of vials of Acthar rose 45% during the quarter versus a year earlier. They were up 21% from the first quarter’s tally.
The company said prescriptions for Acthar to treat multiple sclerosis more than doubled compared with the same quarter last year.
Prescriptions for the drug as a treatment for other conditions, including infantile spasms, also surged.
“Our focus on expanding the use of Acthar in the treatment of MS exacerbations drove our record second quarter financial performance,” AP piece quoted Don Bailey, Questcor’s president and Chief Executive, as saying.
As a result, the company is expanding its nephrology selling effort, he added.