Opko Loss Widens

(RTTNews) - Opko Health Inc (OPK), a biopharmaceutical and diagnostics company, on Friday reported fourth-quarter net loss of $53 million or $0.12 per share compared with a loss of $16.8 million or $0.04 per share last year.

The company's revenues for the quarter were hihger at $25.5 million compared with $20.7 million in the prior year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated a loss of $0.06 per share on revenues of $24.6 million for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company said results were hurt by an increase in expenses to $58 million from $56.6 million last year, mainly related to derivative instruments.

"We accomplished a number of important objectives during 2014," said Phillip Frost, the company's chief executive officer. "The completion of the Pfizer transaction rounded out a watershed year for Opko that saw us report two successful Phase 3 clinical trials for Rayaldee, successful validation of the 4Kscore Test and subsequent launch of the 4Kscore Test in the US and Europe.

The company said its cash and cash equivalents of $96.9 million at December 2014, together with the $295 million in upfront payments from Pfizer received in 2015, provide it with adequate liquidity to continue development of its product candidates.

OPK closed Friday at $14.56, down $0.28 or 1.89%, on a volume of 3.5 million shares on the NYSE. In after hours, the stock dropped $0.31 or 2.13%.