CASI Pharmaceuticals Inc (CASI:US)
12-month performance: -32%
Insider activity: Bullish
Insider buying pattern: Large purchase from Chairman/CEO
Recent news: Good Q1 results
CASI Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company that is focused on the acquisition, development, and commercialisation of therapeutics. The company has a strong and growing product pipeline of commercially available and clinical-stage drug candidates and aims to become the leading platform for medicines in the greater China market. It is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market and currently has a market capitalisation of $250 million.
Encouraging Q1 results
CASI Pharmaceuticals issued an encouraging set of first-quarter results in May. For the quarter, revenue came in at $3.4 million, compared to $0 for the same period in 2019. Revenues consisted primarily of product sales of EVOMELA – a formulation designed to treat myeloma – which launched in August 2019. Wei-Wu He, CASI’s Chairman and CEO, commented, “Despite the unprecedented macro conditions impacting our global economy, I am pleased to report that we have made very encouraging progress this past quarter. Importantly, EVOMELA revenues were $3.4 million in Q1, driven in large part by the high unmet need in this patient population. EVOMELA has proven to be an essential drug for multiple myeloma patients and is the only form of melphalan commercially available in China.”
Source: 2iQ Research
Insider buying: $8 million CEO purchase
On 21 July, CASI announced that it would be raising $38 million in a public offering to advance its product portfolio and what stands out to us is that Chairman and CEO Wei-Wu He purchased 4.15 million shares in the offering. This purchase – which cost the insider around $7.9 million according to Form 4 SEC filings – boosted his holding significantly. Dr He has been Chairman of CASI since 2012 and is therefore likely to have an excellent understanding of the company’s future prospects. This large purchase suggests that he is very confident about the future. We see this insider buying activity as a bullish signal.
