Millennium Shares Declines
On Inventory, Profit Worries
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK -- Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares fell for the fifth consecutive trading session to a new 52-week low, on worries about inventory levels for its only commercial product, as well as the potential conversion of $600 million in notes.
Shares of the Cambridge, Mass., drug company closed Tuesday at $6.43, down 53 cents, or 8%. In intraday trading the stock went as low as $6.24, setting a new low. Shares hit a 52-week high in March of $25.55.
"They may have to ride out a rough first quarter," analyst Cory William Kasimov of Ryan Beck & Co. said.
Conversion of the notes in April could deplete the company's capital by a third, but Mr. Kasimov, who maintains an "outperform" rating on the company, sees little resulting impact.
The company now has about $1.7 billion in cash and short-term investments, and told investors last month that it expects to break even by 2006, not 2004 as it envisioned earlier.
Millennium, noted for high spending on research and development, has at least four drugs in human clinical trials, and applied for marketing approval last month for its Velcade drug for bone-marrow cancer.
Velcade's approval for bone cancer may come in the second half of 2003, while early news on solid tumors is likely at an oncology conference in the spring.
Millennium's chief financial officer Kenneth Bate said inventory figures reported by IMS Health Inc. only include about 60% of wholesalers carrying Integrilin.
Mr. Bate reiterated that Millennium expects 2003 Integrilin sales to increase to $365 million, from $304 million in 2002.
The company will prefer to refinance or extend its convertible notes maturity beyond April 29, Mr. Bate said.
Updated February 4, 2003 9:15 p.m. EST |
