Why Cadence Pharmaceuticals Inc. Shares Plunged

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of biotechnology company Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Inc. sank 10% today after its quarterly results missed Wall Street expectations.

So what: The stock has rallied nicely in 2013 on strong sales of its IV acetaminophen formulation Ofirmev, but a Q2 miss -- loss of $0.14 per share on revenue of $24.7 million vs. the consensus $0.11 loss and top-line of $24 million -- is forcing analysts to rein in a bit of their excitement. While Ofirmev revenues jumped 123% as vial sales doubled to 2.2 million, today's price action suggests that it isn't growing fast enough to justify its seemingly lofty valuation.

Now what: Management now sees full-year Ofirmev revenues of $103-$105 million, up nicely from its prior view of $97 million-$103 million and bracketing the consensus estimate of $104 million.

"We believe that usage of the product within our broad customer base will continue to increase, and our market share will grow," said CEO Ted Schroeder. "I'm pleased with the momentum we have been able to maintain with our revenue growth."

So while Cadence might be a bit too risk for average Fools, biotech-savvy traders might want to use today's pullback to buy into that bullish outlook.

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The article Why Cadence Pharmaceuticals Inc. Shares Plunged originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Brian Pacampara has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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