Why Agios Pharmaceuticals Stock Zoomed to a 13% Gain on Wednesday
Key Points
It brought in nearly $21 million in the first quarter.
Mitapivat has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of two blood disorders.
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Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AGIO) was a standout stock in the healthcare sector on Hump Day. Investors eagerly snapped up the company's shares after it unveiled its latest quarterly earnings report and business update. Agios closed the midweek trading session up by more than 13% as a result.
A mighty molecule
Agios' revenue-generating molecule is mitapivat, which earned its second Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval -- under the brand name Aqvesme -- last December. It's a drug indicated for the treatment of anemia in adult patients with alpha or beta-thalassemia (a condition in which the body produces insufficient or abnormal hemoglobin).
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Between Aqvesme and Pyrukynd, a mitapivat drug that earned an FDA green light for the treatment of certain patients with a different blood disorder called hemolytic anemia, the molecule is now responsible for all of the company's revenue. As the first quarter was Agios' first full quarter of Aqvesme sales, the company's top line rose to $20.7 million from $8.7 million in the year-ago quarter.
Agios' net loss deepened during the period, coming in at just over $99 million, or $1.69 per share, compared with $89 million in the first quarter of 2025.
Both numbers beat the average analyst estimates of $13.9 million for revenue and $1.81 per share for net loss.
Seeking a new indication
Agios remains optimistic about its star molecule. It quoted CEO Brian Goff as saying that "The solid early momentum of our U.S. commercial launch of Aqvesme in thalassemia highlights both the medicine's clinical value and strong community reception."
He added that the company aims to submit a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the FDA for mitapivat for the indication of adult sickle cell disease. That should occur this quarter.
Agios obviously has a winner in mitapivat, although it's still early days for Aqvesme, and it's not quite at the finish line with that sickle cell application. It feels to me the pharmaceutical company has good momentum, so along with today's bulls, I'd be optimistic about its future.
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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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