Earnings: Novan, Argos, TransEnterix, Heat Bio, MaxPoint, ChannelAdvisor

A host of Triangle public companies are rolling out earnings reports this month. Here’s an update.

Novan reports third quarter loss that exceeds expectations

Novan reported net loss on Monday that exceeded Wall Street expectations in its first quarterly earnings as a public company.

The company reported a net loss of $5.76 per share for the third quarter. This is down from a net loss of $2.66 per share in the same quarter last year and worse than the loss of $1.40 per share that analysts were expecting.

The filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission can be found here.

Novan is a pharmaceutical company focused on dermatology using nitric oxide.

The company reported a net loss of $46.6 million in the first nine months of the year. It reported a net loss of $28.1 million in 2015. It has had no revenue.

“We are pleased to announce the results of a productive quarter,” said President and CEO Nathan Stasko in a statement. “The completion of our IPO provided us additional capital to advance our unique platform of nitric oxide-releasing product candidates, progressing toward important development milestones in the coming months for three of our development programs.”

Total operating expenses for the third quarter were $17.5 million including research and development, general and administrative and operating expenses. This is up from $5.6 million in total operating costs for the same period last year. The increase in expenses was attributed to research and development for phase three clinical trials of its product SB204.

This September NCBNW reported Novan’s filing for a $60 million initial public offering. In the first day of trading, it saw a 64 percent stock rise. Net proceeds to Novan from the sale of the shares totaled about $44.6 million.

At the end of the third quarter, Novan’s cash was about $55.7 million.

The company is developing a product for acne treatment that is in phase three pivotal clinical trials and expects to announce results in first quarter 2017.

It is also developing a treatment for viral skin infections, such as warts from HPV, that is in phase two of proof-of-concept trial and will announce results in the quarter.

Finally, the company is working on developing a product for the treatment of infections of the skin and nails that is in phase 2 trials with announcement of results expected in the first half of 2017.

The stock opened Monday at $22.37, up from Friday’s close of $21.98.

Argos reports earnings loss that meets expectations

Argos Therapeutics announced a third-quarter loss on Monday that met analysts’ estimates, but revenue fell short of expectations, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Argos reported a net loss for the quarter of 32 cents per share, compared to a loss of 97 cents for the same period in 2015. Analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research had also expected a loss of 32 cents per share.

However, the company posted revenue of $146,756 for the quarter that fell short of analysts’ forecasts, which were closer to $400,000. The same period last year Argos reported revenue of $158,349.

Argos stock, traded on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “ARGS,” will open at $4.80 on Monday and was seen trading up as much as 4 percent in early hours. One year ago, shares were trading at $4.31.

“During the third quarter, we further strengthened our management team and financial position,” Jeff Abbey, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. Abbey highlighted the fact that Dr. Richard Katz joined the company as chief financial officer in July, and he has “already played an instrumental role by driving the most recent financing, in which [Argos] raised gross proceeds of $50 million.”

Argos also added in its press release that research and development expenses for the quarter totaled $9.3 million, far less than its expenses of $17.2 million for the third quarter in 2015.

Durham-based Argos is an immuno-oncology company focused on the development and commercialization of individualized immunotherapies, which are used for the treatment of cancer. According to its website, the company has developed a pipeline of products based on its proprietary “Arcelis technology platform.”

TransEnterix sees shares jump after reporting smaller net loss

TransEnterix Inc. announced a third-quarter loss on Monday that slightly beat analysts’ estimates, and the firm also announced the installation of its Senhance system at another location, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

TransEnterix reported a third-quarter loss of 11 cents per share, compared to a loss of 16 cents per share in the same period last year. Analysts were forecasting a loss of 12 cents.

The company reported revenue of $1.5 million for the quarter, largely representing the sale of one Senhance system and related services, the press release said. TransEnterix also said it has cash and cash equivalents on hand of approximately $52.9 million, which will fund operations into the fourth quarter of 2017.

Morrisville-based TransEnterix is currently focused on the commercialization of its Senhance system, which is a robotic system that brings the advantages of robotic surgery to patients while enabling surgeons with technology such as haptic feedback and eye sensing camera control.

“We are pleased with our recent progress, which included the first sale of a Senhance system and the continued development of our commercial pipeline,” said Todd M. Pope, president and CEO, in a statement. “We remain enthusiastic about the potential of Senhance, and will continue to invest in global commercial expansion, including partnering with additional influential institutions to establish clinical reference sites.”

TransEnterix stock, traded under the ticker symbol “TRXC,” will open at $1.63 on Monday and was seen trading up as much as 9 percent in early hours. The stock has seen a 52-week low of $1.03 and a 52-week high of $6.10.

The company is a medical device company that is pioneering the use of robotics to improve minimally invasive surgery. The company is also working on the development of the SurgiBot System, a single-port, robotically enhanced laparoscopic surgical platform.

Heat Biologics cuts loss, beats expectations

Heat Biologics Inc. reported on Thursday a net loss for the third quarter of $1.7 million, or 8 cents per share, which beat Wall Street expectations as the company cut its expenses. [t]

The Durham-based company reported a third quarter loss in the same quarter a year ago of $5.4 million, according to the Nov. 10 filing, which can be found here. Analysts were expecting a loss of 16 cents per share.

The Durham-based company credited the decrease to reductions in consultant fees, clinical trial costs and workforce.

In addition, research and development expenses decreased to $600,000 million, clinical and regulatory expenses decreased $2.6 million to $1.1 million, and general and administrative expenses decreased by $100,000 to $800,000.

“During the third quarter, we strengthened our balance sheet and benefitted from the exercise of warrants and substantial pay down of our existing debt,” Jeff Wolf, CEO of Heat Biologics, said in a release. “We continue to carefully manage our expenses as we await important top-line data this quarter.”

Wolf also said the company ended the quarter with approximately $8.5 million of cash on hand.

“This year through Nov. 10, 2016, we have generated over $3.1 million in cash from the exercise of our March 23, 2016 warrants,” he said.

Founded in 2008, Heat Biologics is a biotechnology company focused on the field of cancer immunotherapy.

In October, however, the company announced a new Zika vaccine collaboration with the University of Miami. In addition, the formation of a wholly-owned subsidiary, Zolovax Inc. was announced at the same time, which will work on developing gp96-based vaccines for the treatment of infectious diseases.

Heat Biologic’s stock was trading slightly down the following day, at $1.34 as of Friday at noon, down 8 cents from Thursday’s open of $1.42 per share and down 2 cents from Friday’s open of $1.36 per share.

MaxPoint reports 4% revenue growth

Ecommerce firm MaxPoint reported its latest earnings Nov. 10.

Highlights:

Revenue of $37.4 million increased 4% in the third quarter of 2016, compared to $36.0 million for the third quarter of 2015.
Revenue ex-TAC1 of $24.9 million increased 8% in the third quarter of 2016, compared to $23.0 million for the third quarter of 2015.
Net loss of $2.9 million in the third quarter of 2016 compared to a net loss of $4.8 million for the third quarter of 2015.
Adjusted EBITDA1 of $0.9 million in the third quarter of 2016 compared to $(1.9) million for the third quarter of 2015.
Net loss per basic and diluted share of $0.44 in the third quarter of 2016 compared to $0.74 for the third quarter of 2015.
Non-GAAP net loss per basic and diluted share1 of $0.29 in the third quarter of 2016 compared to $0.58 for the third quarter of 2015.