Sirtex gives investors injection of confidence

Sirtex Medical (SRX) is the best performer on the Uncapped 100 this afternoon after the liver cancer treatment developer’s share price recorded its best gain in nearly a decade on its latest sales update.

Management reported dose sales of its microspheres increased 18.7% in the December quarter, which stands in stark contrast to the previous dismal sales growth of just 4% for the September quarter.

The sharp slowdown in dose sales in three months to September sparked a sharp sell-off in the stock, which declined around 17.5% from October to yesterday, but today’s sharp 17.6% rebound to $13.41 during lunch time trade means that Sirtex has effectively regained all of those losses.

If it finishes the trading day at these levels, it would mark the stock’s best one-day performance since April 19, 2005.

Investors can now feel more confident that management can meet consensus earnings forecasts for the current financial year with the sales re-acceleration driven primarily by demand from the United States.

Analysts polled on Bloomberg are tipping sales growth of 23.7% and an adjusted net profit increase of 38.9%, to $119.8 million and $25.4 million, respectively.

There could be further room for the stock to climb as supporters point to Sirtex’s relatively attractive 2013-14 price-earnings multiple of 22.8 times – or a 33% discount to global peers.