Biohaven Stock Moving on Migraine Med Results

Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co. (BHVN) share price surged 13.6% to close at $112.25 on July 7.

Biohaven Pharmaceutical is a commercial-stage biotechnology company. Its primary focus is on the development and commercialization of treatments for central nervous system ailments.

The company is developing Nurtec ODT (rimegepant) as a potential preventative treatment for migraine. Apart from Nurtec, the company is also developing three other candidates: verdiperstat, troriluzole and zavegepant.

With a market capital of 7.3 billion, the share price of Biohaven Pharmaceutical jumped 31% and 44% over the past six months and a year, respectively.

Why the Euphoria?

On July 7, the company announced the preliminary net product revenue of NURTEC ODT for the second quarter of 2021.

Net product revenue generated from sales of NURTEC ODT came to $93 million in Q2. More than 750,000 total prescriptions of NURTEC ODT were written from the launch of the product up to June 30, 2021.

Biohaven Pharmaceutical CEO Vlad Coric, M.D. said, "During the quarter, we saw robust growth of NURTEC ODT in the acute treatment of migraine and initial strong growth in the preventive treatment of episodic migraine in the last few weeks after receiving the prevention approval from the FDA."

He further added, “As the first and only dual-therapy medication indicated to both treat and prevent migraines, NURTEC ODT is redefining the treatment paradigm for patients." (See Biohaven stock chart on TipRanks)

The strong pre-results for NURTEC ODT were enough to win the confidence of investors, sending the share price rise to a new high.

Analysts’ Take on NURTEC ODT Preliminary Numbers

Following the announcement of the preliminary Q2 results, Mizuho Securities analyst Vamil Divan maintained a Buy rating and a price target of $92 (18% downside potential).

Vamil Divan believes that strong Nurtec ODT Q2 sales are expected to be driven by “underlying Nurtec ODT demand, along with an improving net price.” Further, he expects "continued strength in BHVN shares given the surprisingly strong 2Q21 results.”

Another analyst, H.C. Wainwright of Douglas Tsao, reiterated a Buy rating on the stock but increased the price target to $111.00 from $135.00. This implies 20.3% upside potential to current levels.

Tsao noted that the net revenue of $93 million above its own estimate, as well as above the consensus mark of $55 million, indicates the strong adoption of NURTEC drug. He expects, “the preventative segment to be the primary value driver for Nurtec with sales ultimately more than double the acute segment.”

Developments in NURTEC ODT

NURTEC ODT is the first and only calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist licensed for the acute treatment of migraine.

Biohaven’s oral CGRP antagonist Nurtec ODT (rimegepant) was launched in March 2020. Later, in May of this year, the company announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Nurtec ODT for the preventive treatment of migraine as well.

Given the approval by FDA, Nurtec ODT became the first and only medicine approved for the treatment of acute migraine attacks as well as the prevention of future migraine attacks.

Going by numbers, Nurtec ODT recorded sales worth $43.8 million in the first quarter of 2021, up 24.8% sequentially, driven by growth in the oral CGRP segment as well as an increase in the market share of Nurtec ODT as a migraine therapy.

Notably, a regulatory application seeking approval for rimegepant as a potential acute, as well as preventive, treatment for migraine, is under review in Europe. The company’s planned commercial name for rimegepant in Europe is Vydura.

Once the approval is granted in Europe, investors could further gain from the stock.

Global Migraine Drugs Market Growth

Per a study from ResearchAndMarkets.com report, the global migraine drugs market is projected to grow to $5.10 billion by 2024. This represents a CAGR of 3.7% from 2020 through 2024.

According to the report, the migraine market expansion is fueled by factors such as the rising female population, growing cigarette usage, mounting pharmaceutical R&D investment, expanding healthcare spending, among additional catalysts.

Given the lucrative growth opportunity in the migraine market, Biohaven has immense growth opportunities in this space with its Nurtec ODT drug.

Analysts’ Views

Consensus among analysts is a Strong Buy based on 7 Buys and 1 Hold. The average BHVN price target of $111.57 implies that shares are fully valued at current levels.

Vital Metrics

Biohaven scores a 6 of 10 from TipRanks’ Smart Score rating system, indicating that the stock is likely to perform in line with market averages.

TipRanks data shows that financial blogger opinions are 100% Bullish on BHVN, compared to a sector average of 69%.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.