Dendreon Corp. shares sank Tuesday after the drug developer reported a loss and what an analyst described as "modest growth" for the company's only marketed product, the prostate cancer treatment Provenge.
The Seattle company's stock tumbled more than 22 percent, or $2.62, to $9.07 in late morning trading while the Nasdaq exchange fell 1.7 percent in comparison.
Dendreon posted a loss of $103.9 million, or 70 cents per share, after the markets closed Monday. That compares with a loss of $112.8 million, or 78 cents per share, in last year's quarter.
Excluding severance expenses, the loss amounted to 59 cents per share. Total revenue, which consisted almost entirely of Provenge sales, jumped to $82 million from $27 million.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected, on average, a loss of 67 cents per share on $81.7 million in revenue.
The Food and Drug Administration approved Provenge in April 2010. Dendreon said it increased the use of Provenge in large, community oncology and urology practices in the first quarter, and it added 128 infusion sites. It also said its operating expenses soared 31 percent to $172.6 million, as the cost of product revenue climbed.
Dendreon had about $559.1 million in cash, cash equivalents and short- and long-term investments at the end of the quarter compared to $617.7 million at the end of last year.
Citi analyst Dr. Yaron Werber said that Provenge sales came in slightly above analyst expectations, but the drug faces competition from new treatments like Zytiga.
"We continue to be concerned with the risk/reward of the stock and believe the only upside comes from potential acquisition," Werber wrote.
