Boston, MA 02/10/2014 (wallstreetpr) – The steady growth of Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) in the market has prompted many analysts to rank its stock as one of the most bearish. The company earnings have been moving higher than expected in the recent past despite the earlier pessimism. The announcing of the signing of a seven year partnership with specialized therapeutics Australia has also been viewed as one of the major catalysts for the outstanding growth in the market.
The mounting pressure facing Ariad
Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) is facing mounting pressure from one of its second largest shareholders who is seeking an additional two seats in the board. Sarissa Capital Management LP which claims to have increased its capital share of the company to 6.2% wants an additional two seats from the current it holds.
Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) is currently grappling with difficulties and challenges as one of its drug designed to cure Leukemia continues to face challenges after safety concerns were raised. Sales of the drugs were suspended in October after an FDA investigation which has substantially reduced its revenue avenues. The drug was found to have caused severe blood clots and the narrowing of blood veins on patients who had taken it.
Sales of the drug resumed in January and are only being used by patients who can’t use other alternatives such an s Novartis AG’s Gleevec and Sprycel. The drug is mainly being prescribed to patients with specific kind of genetic mutation who can’t be faced with the challenges of blood clotting and the narrowing of blood veins.
TheStreet Rating of Ariad
The Street Quant Ratings has placed the ‘sell’ tag on Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) as various weaknesses start emerging from the company. Deteriorating net income with weak operating cash has not done any good in improving the reputation of the company.
Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) earnings per share has been on a decline for the past two years with the recent quarter recording slump of 12% with the trend expected to continue in the coming quarters. A decline in net income has been observed dropping by a high margin of 24% to lows of -$66.34 million compared to previous quarter of -$53.21. Despite all these negativity, its return on equity is still notably high compared to a similar quarter a year ago.
Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) closed Friday trading session at a high of $7.99 an increase of 11.44% compared to the previous day trading session.
