NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / May 27, 2015 / SeeThruEquity, a leading independent equity research and corporate access firm focused on smallcap and microcap public companies, today announced it has initiated coverage of NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: NBY) with a Price Target of $1.87.
The report is available here: NBY Initiation Report. SeeThruEquity is an approved equity research contributor on Thomson First Call, Capital IQ, FactSet, and Zack's. The report will be available on these platforms. We also contribute our estimates to Thomson Estimates, the leading estimates platform on Wall Street.
"Avenova with Neutrox is a novel product targeting a large and underserved market of 30mn patients annually - a $500mn market opportunity in the U.S. alone, according to management. Over the last several months NovaBay has expanded its distribution and more than doubled its sales team as it makes an impressive push to capture its fair share of this underserved $500mn US market. We see NovaBay as an attractive pharmaceutical speculative investment with high growth potential focused on the eye care market. We are also attracted to the fact that NovaBay has a clear near term catalyst in the commercial launch of the company's lead product Avenova(TM), as well as ongoing catalysts as the company develops a portfolio of eye care products and monetizes non-core assets," stated Ajay Tandon, CEO of SeeThruEquity. "We are initiating coverage with a 12-month price target of $1.87 per share."
Additional highlights from the report are as follows:
All eyes on launch of Avenova
Although it remains the early stages, NovaBay's commercial launch of Avenova with Neutrox(TM) is yielding encouraging early results. Sales of Avenova have been accelerating. Avenova sales of $465,000 for 1Q15 more than doubled compared with the 4Q14. Management has stated that sales growth momentum continues to be strong into the second quarter, although sales of Avenova are not expected to double from the prior quarter. Moreover, NovaBay indicated that the company is already seeing repeat orders, suggesting that Avenova with Neutrox(TM) is beginning to gain traction in the market. We have forecast sales of Avenova to rise to $2.8mn in 2015E from $0.3mn in 2014, before eclipsing $10mn in sales in 2016E.
Novel product targeting a large market
We see Avenova as a novel product targeting a large market. Avenova is the only prescription product for daily eyelid and eyelash hygiene, and the product is based upon a proprietary compound controlled by the company, Neutrox. Avenova is initially targeting the management of blepharitis (eyelid inflammation) and dry eye. Combined, these markets represent 30mn potential patients, and NovaBay management estimates this market opportunity at approximately $500mn per annum in the US. Over time, we also expect Avenova may be used to target cataract and refractory surgery patients, adding an additional 5mn to the potential patient pool.
Aggressive sales and distribution to drive penetration
NovaBay has an impressive distribution network in place to support its penetration of the eye care market. The company has distribution that reaches approximately 90% of the 67,000 retail pharmacies in the United States, via distribution agreements with industry giants McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen. The company has also established a solid initial sales footprint, with 35 dedicated sales reps in major US markets. Avenova was also added to the Vision Source Independent Optometry Network, the largest optometry network in the country with 2,800 independent offices. Avenova is priced in the $30 / $40 range, for a month's supply, and we believe the company can differentiate itself from competitors by combining the effective removal of microorganisms from eyelids and eyelashes while minimizing irritation.
Please review important disclosures on our website at www.seethruequity.com.
About NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
NovaBay Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focusing on the commercialization and development of its non-antibiotic anti-infective products to address the unmet therapeutic needs of the global, topical anti-infective eye care market with its two distinct product categories: FDA-cleared NEUTROXTM Family of Products: AVENOVATM for the eye care market, NEUTROPHASE(R) for wound care and CELLERXTM for the dermatology market; and its AGANOCIDE(R) compounds, led by AURICLOSENE(TM).
NovaBay is partnered in the U.S. and around the globe with: PBE, Inc. (U.S.), IHT, Inc. (U.S.), Galderma (France), Virbac (France), China Pioneer Pharma (China and Southeast Asia), Shin Poong Pharmaceuticals (Korea), and Biopharm Group (North African and Middle East).
About SeeThruEquity
SeeThruEquity is an equity research and corporate access firm focused on companies with less than $1 billion in market capitalization. The research is not paid for and is unbiased. We do not conduct any investment banking or commission based business. We are approved to contribute our research to Thomson One Analytics (First Call), Capital IQ, FactSet, Zacks, and distribute our research to our database of opt-in investors. We also contribute our estimates to Thomson Estimates, the leading estimates platform on Wall Street.
For more information visit www.seethruequity.com.
Contact:
Ajay Tandon
SeeThruEquity
info@seethruequity.com
SOURCE: SeeThruEquity
