Insmed Inc At Ubs Global Healthcare Conference

Each week, Benzinga’s Stock Whisper Index uses a combination of proprietary data and pattern recognition to showcase five stocks that are just under the surface and deserve attention.

Investors are constantly on the hunt for undervalued, under-followed and emerging stocks. With countless methods available to retail traders, the challenge often lies in sifting through the abundance of information to uncover new opportunities and understand why certain stocks should be of interest.

Read Also: EXCLUSIVE: Top 20 Most-Searched Tickers On Benzinga Pro In October 2024 — Where Do Tesla, Nvidia, Apple, DJT Stock Rank?

Here's a look at the Benzinga Stock Whisper Index for the week of Nov. 8:

Insmed Inc : The biopharmaceutical company saw increased interest from investors over the week, which comes after the company reported third-quarter financial results and provided a company update in late October. The company said ARIKAYCE had revenue of $93.4 million in the quarter, up 18% year-over-year.

Insmed also said its NDA submission for Brensocatib in Bronchiectasis is on track for the fourth quarter and is expected to launch in the U.S. in mid-2025.

H.C. Wainwright reiterated a Buy rating and $90 price target on the stock after the quarterly results. Truist reiterated a Buy rating and raised the price target from $100 to $105. Investor interest could increase in the coming weeks with the company scheduled to participate in several conferences including ones from Guggenheim (Nov. 11), UBS Global (Nov. 12), Wolfe Research (Nov. 20) and Jefferies (Nov. 21).

Insmed shares were up over 8% in the last five trading days, as seen on the Benzinga Pro chart below, and are up over 140% year-to-date in 2024.

Applied Industrial Technologies : The industrial company was one of several in the sector to see strong interest from readers, which could be related to Donald Trump winning the 2024 election. Industrials were a top performing sector under Trump’s previous four years in the White House.

The company also recently reported first-quarter financial results with earnings per share of $2.36 and revenue of $1.10 billion, beating Street consensus estimates of $2.27 and $1.09 billion respectively. Applied Industrial also increased its fiscal 2025 earnings per share guidance to a range of $9.25 to $10.00, up from prior guidance of $9.20 to $9.95 and ahead of a Street estimate of $9.39.

Analysts raised their price targets on the stock after the quarterly results. The stock was up over 15% in the last five trading days and is up over 50% year-to-date in 2024.

Sprouts Farmers Market : The specialty grocery retailer saw strong interest from Benzinga readers during the week, which comes after recent quarterly results and with shares trading at 52-week highs. The company's third-quarter earnings per share of 91 cents and revenue of $1.90 billion beat Street estimates of 76 cents per share and $1.88 billion respectively.

The company said the third quarter was exceptional and CEO Jack Sinclair highlighted "robust traffic growth." Same store sales were up 8.4% in the third quarter. The company opened nine new stores, ending the quarter with 428 stores in 23 states.

Goldman Sachs recently maintained a Buy rating on the stock and raised the price target from $127 to $159. Wells Fargo maintained an Equal-Weight rating on the stock and raised the price target from $90 to $130.

The stock was up over 10% over the last five trading days, and shares are up over 190% year-to-date in 2024.

Intuitive Surgical : The medical devices company saw strong interest from readers over the last week, with shares trading at 52-week highs Friday.

The company recently reported third-quarter financial results with revenue of $2.04 billion beating a Street consensus estimate of $2.0 billion and earnings per share of $1.84 beating a Street consensus estimate of $1.63. Intuitive Surgical reported revenue growth of 17% year-over-year in the quarter, with worldwide da Vinci procedures up 18% year-over-year.

The company also placed 379 da Vinci systems in the quarter, up from 312 in the prior quarter. There are 9,539 installed da Vinci surgical systems as of the end of the quarter. Intuitive obtained regulatory clearance for the da Vinci 5 surgical system in South Korea in October.

The earnings report saw several analysts raise their price targets on the stock. Analysts see the company's updated da Vinci 5 system, which can be used for more types of surgeries as a growth catalyst moving forward. Shares of Intuitive Surgical were up around six percent in the last five days and are up over 60% year-to-date.

Mueller Industries : The industrials company was another in the sector that saw increased interest and a soaring stock price, potential from Trump's 2024 election win. The company recently reported third-quarter net sales of $997.8 million, beating a Street consensus estimate of $936.0 million and quarterly earnings per share of $1.48, which beat a Street estimate of $1.32. Mueller Industries said the revenue growth came from recently acquired businesses and higher copper prices in the quarter.

"We anticipated that declining interest rates and moderating inflation, combined with the resolution of election related uncertainty, will create a more stable and favorable environment for us," Mueller CEO Greg Christopher said.

The stock was up 13% over the last five days and is up over 100% year-to-date in 2024.

Stay tuned for next week’s report, and follow Benzinga Pro for all the latest headlines and top market-moving stories here.

Read the latest Stock Whisper Index reports here:

• October 18
• October 25
• November 1

Read Next:

• Trump Victory Sends Bank Stocks Higher, Leading S&P 500 On Regulatory Hopes

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Insmed INSM reported a third-quarter 2024 loss of $1.27 per share, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $1.19. In the year-ago quarter, the company posted a loss of $1.11 per share.

Insmed generated total revenues of $93.4 million during the quarter, up 18% year over year. Quarterly sales were in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Shares of INSM were down more than 4% on Thursday likely due to the earnings miss.

See the Zacks Earnings Calendar to stay ahead of market-making news.

Year to date, shares of Insmed have surged 117.1% against the industry’s 3.6% decline.

More on INSM’s Quarterly Results

In the reported quarter, total revenues were generated entirely by its only marketed drug, Arikayce, which is approved for treating refractory mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) lung disease in adults with limited or no alternative treatment option.

The rise in Arikayce sales was driven by continued growth in demand across all marketed regions. Sales of the drug increased 13% to $66.9 million in the United States, while that in Japan rose 31% to $21.0 million. Sales in Europe and the rest of the world rallied 45% to $5.6 million.

In the reported quarter, research and development (R&D) expenses rose 38% year over year to $150.8 million. Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses amounted to $118.9 million, up 31% from the year-ago figure. The uptick in both expenses is attributable to an increase in employee compensation and benefit-related expenses.

As of Sept. 30, 2024, Insmed had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of around $1.5 billion compared with $1.2 billion as of June 30, 2024. This surge in cash balance was due to the inflow of funds from the company’s at-the-market equity program, which added net proceeds of $371 million during the third quarter.

INSM Maintains 2024 Guidance

Management reiterated its sales guidance for the full year. It expects product sales for Arikayce to be between $340 million and $360 million, indicating 15% year-over-year growth at the midpoint of the range.

Updates on INSM’s Pipeline

Alongside the earnings release, Insmed announced that it is scheduled to meet the FDA before this year’s end to discuss the possibility of an accelerated approval to expand Arikayce’s label to treat all patients with MAC lung infection. In this regard, management is conducting the phase III ENCORE study, which is evaluating the drug as a potential treatment for newly infected patients with MAC lung disease.

If the FDA approves Arikayce’s label for newly infected patients with MAC lung disease, it will significantly expand the drug’s patient population. Management estimates the total addressable market (TAM) for refractory MAC to be around 30,000 patients in the United States, Europe and Japan. If the drug was also approved in the newly-infected patient population, the TAM would increase to around 275,000 patients in the combined markets. Based on these factors, we expect the drug to generate more than $1 billion in peak sales.

Insmed remains on track to submit a regulatory filing for brensocatib in bronchiectasis before the end of this year. If approved, brensocatib will be the first approved treatment for bronchiectasis patients. Management expects a commercial launch for the drug in the United States in mid-2025 (assuming priority review), followed by product launches in Europe and Japan in the first half of 2026.

Apart from bronchiectasis, Insmed is also evaluating brensocatib in the phase IIb BiRCh study in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyps (CRSsNP). A data readout is expected in the second half of 2025. Management also intends to initiate a mid-stage study on the drug in HS indication before 2024-end.

Management expects to report top-line data from a mid-stage study evaluating treprostinil palmitil inhalation powder (TPIP) in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in the second half of 2025. It also plans to start a late-stage study next year evaluating TPIP in patients with pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD).

INSM’s Zacks Rank

Insmed currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Insmed, Inc. Price

Insmed, Inc. price | Insmed, Inc. Quote

Key Picks Among Biotech Stocks

Some better-ranked stocks from the sector are Amicus Therapeutics FOLD, Elevation Oncology ELEV and Castle Biosciences CSTL. While FOLD and ELEV sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) each at present, CSTL carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

In the past 60 days, estimates for Amicus Therapeutics’ 2024 earnings per share (EPS) have moved up from 21 to 22 cents. EPS estimates for 2025 have increased from 50 to 53 cents during the same period. Year to date, shares of FOLD have lost 18.4%.

FOLD’s earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed the mark once, delivering an average surprise of 23.96%.

In the past 60 days, estimates for Elevation Oncology’s 2024 loss per share have narrowed from 86 to 82 cents. Loss per share estimates for 2025 have narrowed from 90 to 86 cents during the same time. Year to date, shares of ELEV have rallied 11.7%.

ELEV’s earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed the same in one, the average surprise being 12.05%.

In the past 90 days, estimates for Castle Biosciences’ 2024 loss per share have narrowed from $1.28 to 59 cents. Year to date, shares of Castle Biosciences have surged 60.1%.

CSTL’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 132.32%.

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