Rigel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RIGL) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

• Rigel Pharmaceuticals shares surged from a previous close of $24.24 to an opening price of $27.18 after reporting earnings per share of $3.28, significantly beating expectations of $1.97.
• The company's revenue for the quarter reached $101.69 million, surpassing the estimate of $64.58 million, indicating strong operational performance.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Rigel Pharmaceuticals, with a projected average price target of $36.40, reflecting positive outlook from investors.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIGL - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $24.24, but opened at $27.18. Rigel Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $28.56, with a volume of 461,186 shares trading hands.

The biotechnology company reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $1.31. Rigel Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.51% and a return on equity of 438.89%. The firm had revenue of $101.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.58 million.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Rigel Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rigel Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,012,931 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $17,038,000 after acquiring an additional 27,640 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $197,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 587.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 180,492 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,036,000 after acquiring an additional 154,254 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,178,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $588,000. Institutional investors own 66.23% of the company's stock.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 4.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $568.70 million, a P/E ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.99.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biotechnology company, engages in discovering, developing, and providing therapies that enhance the lives of patients with hematologic disorders and cancer. The company's commercialized products include Tavalisse, an oral spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor for the treatment of adult patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenia; Rezlidhia, a non-intensive monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with a susceptible isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1) mutation as detected by an FDA-approved test; and GAVRETO, a once daily, small molecule, oral, kinase inhibitor for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic rearranged during transfection (RET) fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer, as well as for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older with advanced or metastatic RET fusion-positive thyroid cancer.