Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated (CORT) Earnings & Analysis

Latest quarter

Corcept reported third-quarter revenue of $340.5 million, up 64.0% from $207.6 million a year earlier and above the consensus. Its adjusted earnings per share also exceeded the consensus; diluted earnings per share rose to $1.01 from $0.16 a year earlier.

The filing attributed revenue growth to higher sales of hypercortisolism products and revenue from Lifyorli, which launched commercially in April. Corcept reported $249.1 million in quarterly revenue from hypercortisolism products and said higher sales volume accounted for most of that business’s increase. A prior price increase and improved reimbursement also contributed, partly offset by a greater share of sales from the lower-priced authorized generic version of Korlym.

Corcept’s operating margin rose to 33.7% from 4.92% a year earlier. The filing reported $56.7 million in research and development expense, down as some programs neared completion and manufacturing costs for Lifyorli were no longer recorded as development expense after approval. Corcept ended September with $662.3 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities.

Adjusted EPS is the figure the consensus estimates, not the GAAP EPS above.

What management said on the call

CEO Joseph Belanoff said increasing awareness of hypercortisolism and its prevalence was driving Corcept’s Cushing’s syndrome business. He pointed to diabetes screening recommendations and the company’s CATALYST study as evidence of growing recognition of the condition in clinical practice.

Belanoff said Corcept had resubmitted its application for relacorilant in Cushing’s syndrome and was awaiting the FDA’s decision. He cited the GRACE and GRADIENT trials in support of the application and said approval would lead to faster growth. In its filing, Corcept said GRADIENT’s comparison of blood pressure reductions between relacorilant and placebo was not statistically significant.

On oncology, Belanoff described Lifyorli adoption for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer as rapid and broad. He said the BELLA study’s ovarian cancer combination had produced responses and progression-free survival results, and that other BELLA arms were studying patients with platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer and endometrial cancer. Corcept was also evaluating relacorilant as a potential first-line treatment for pancreatic cancer, he said.

Belanoff said Corcept expected results from BELLA, TRIDENT and the SYNERGY immunotherapy study by the end of next year. He also described plans to test a higher dose of miricorilant in liver disease and to begin a late-stage ALS study next year.

Asked about guidance, CFO Atabak Mokari said the midpoint of Corcept’s range represented its best thinking and that the company considered potential drivers of results probabilistically. Mokari said Corcept had reiterated the range after increasing it several times earlier in the year.

Guidance

CFO Atabak Mokari said Corcept had increased its revenue guidance several times earlier in the year. On the latest call, he said the company reiterated its existing annual guidance.