Kodiak Sciences Inc.


KOD

reported second-quarter 2021 loss per share of $1.08, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $1.04 and the year-ago quarter’s loss of 58 cents.

Kodiak Sciences currently does not have any approved product in its portfolio. As a result, the company is yet to generate revenues.

Shares of Kodiak Sciences have plunged 41.5% so far this year against the

industry’s

increase of 1.7%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Quarter in Detail

Research and development (R&D) expenses were $45.4 million in the quarter, significantly up from $20.6 million in the year-ago period. The increase was driven by higher clinical activities related to KSI-301.

General and administrative (G&A) expenses were $10.5 million, up 69.4% on a year-over-year basis.

As of Jun 30, 2021, Kodiak Sciences had cash worth $880.9 million compared with $929 million as of Mar 31, 2021.

Pipeline Updates

In the absence of an approved product in Kodiak Sciences’ portfolio, its pipeline development remains in key focus, especially its lead eye disease candidate, KSI-301.

During the second quarter, the company started enrollment in a phase III study, DAYLIGHT — a short-interval study that will evaluate KSI-301 in patients with wet-age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) study. The company is conducting a pivotal phase IIb/III study — DAZZLE — its long-interval wet AMD pivotal study. Top-line data from the study is expected in the first quarter of 2022.

In March, the company had received approval to its investigational new drug (IND) applications for KSI-301 in China for initiating clinical studies in patients with diabetic macular edema (“DME”) and macular edema due to retinal vein occlusion (“RVO”) in the country. Following the IND approval, the company will be able to enroll patients from China in its ongoing pivotal studies — BEACON and GLIMMER — evaluating the candidate as a potential treatment for RVO and DME, respectively. The company believes inclusion of patients from China in these studies might support potential approval for the candidate in the targeted indication in China going forward.

Moreover, Kodiak Sciences plans to initiate enrollment in the pivotal phase III GLOW study on KSI-301 in non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy patients without DME in August.

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

Kodiak Sciences currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the biotech sector include

Aptose Biosciences, Inc.


APTO

,

Repligen Corporation


RGEN

and

Corvus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.


CRVS

, all carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see


the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here


.

Aptose’s loss per share estimates have narrowed 10.5% for 2021 and 4.2% for 2022 over the past 30 days.

Repligen’s earnings per share estimates have gained 19% for 2021 and 14.8% for 2022 over the past 30 days. The stock has surged 33.3% year to date.

Corvus’ loss per share estimates have narrowed 24.5% for 2021 and 21.4% for 2022 over the past 30 days.

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