Allogene's (ALLO) Q4 Loss Narrower Than Expected, Sales Miss

Financial Performance - Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. reported an adjusted loss of 43 cents per share in Q4 2023, which was better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 47 cents [1] - Including impairment charges, the company posted a loss of 51 cents in Q4, compared to a loss of 67 cents in the same quarter last year [2] - Revenues for the quarter were $0.02 million, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.05 million, and down 19% year over year [2] - For the full year 2023, Allogene recorded total revenues of $0.1 million, a decrease of 39% year over year, and reported a loss of $2.09 per share, which was narrower than the previous year's loss of $2.38 [4] Expense Management - Research and development (R&D) expenses were $54.7 million, down 28% from the year-ago quarter [3] - General and administrative (G&A) expenses declined 18% year over year to $17.2 million [3] - The company anticipates operating expenses for 2024 to be around $280 million, including nearly $60 million in non-cash stock-based compensation [5] Cash Position and Market Reaction - As of December 31, 2023, Allogene had $448.7 million in cash, cash equivalents, and investments, down from $497.7 million as of September 30, 2023 [3] - Following the earnings announcement, shares of Allogene rose 5% in after-market trading on March 14, attributed to lower-than-expected operating expenses and cash burn [5] - Year to date, the stock has surged 40%, outperforming the industry growth of 0.8% [5] Pipeline Developments - In January, Allogene announced it would deprioritize two pivotal mid-stage studies, ALPHA2 and EXPAND, focusing instead on developing cema-cel as a frontline treatment for LBCL [6][7] - The company initiated start-up activities for the phase II ALPHA3 study, expected to begin in mid-2024, evaluating cema-cel for newly diagnosed LBCL patients [7] - Allogene is also exploring allogenic CAR-T cell therapies for autoimmune diseases, partnering with Arbor Biotechnologies to utilize CRISPR technology for a new candidate, ALLO-329, targeting lupus/SLE [8]