Dendreon Posts Better-Than-Expected Q3 Results

Dendreon on Friday said restructuring-related costs widened its quarterly loss but not as much as Wall Street had expected, and its shares jumped 20%.

The biotech company said sales of its prostate cancer treatment Provenge rose and noted that the reimbursement landscape for therapy had improved. It said accounts at community hospitals improved, though utilization at academic centers fell.

"Provenge sales were up year-over-year, so that was a positive, and there's evidence that their cost-cutting initiatives are starting to take hold," said Morningstar analyst Lauren Migliore. "There seems to be some good momentum for future Provenge growth."

The company posted a third-quarter net loss of $154.9 million, or $1.04 per share, compared with a loss of $147.1 million, or $1.00 per share, a year ago.

Excluding certain items, the company lost 59 cents. On that basis, analysts on average had expected an 86-cent loss, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Quarterly revenue rose to $78.0 million from $64.3 million.

Dendreon said its restructuring is on track and that it expects to see benefits associated with the initiative to be fully realized in the third quarter of 2013.