Pain Therapeutics Inc. Stock Downgraded (PTIE)

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Pain Therapeutics (Nasdaq:PTIE) has been downgraded by TheStreet Ratings from hold to sell. The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its unimpressive growth in net income and generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Pharmaceuticals industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 90.3% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from -$0.82 million to -$1.55 million.
• Despite any intermediate fluctuations, we have only bad news to report on this stock's performance over the last year: it has tumbled by 38.30%, worse than the S&P 500's performance. Consistent with the plunge in the stock price, the company's earnings per share are down 50.00% compared to the year-earlier quarter. Naturally, the overall market trend is bound to be a significant factor. However, in one sense, the stock's sharp decline last year is a positive for future investors, making it cheaper (in proportion to its earnings over the past year) than most other stocks in its industry. But due to other concerns, we feel the stock is still not a good buy right now.
• The company's current return on equity greatly increased when compared to its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a signal of significant strength within the corporation. Compared to other companies in the Pharmaceuticals industry and the overall market, PAIN THERAPEUTICS INC's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.
• Regardless of the drop in revenue, the company managed to outperform against the industry average of 3.9%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly dropped by 0.9%. The declining revenue appears to have seeped down to the company's bottom line, decreasing earnings per share.
• PAIN THERAPEUTICS INC's earnings per share declined by 50.0% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. But, we feel it is poised for EPS growth in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, PAIN THERAPEUTICS INC continued to lose money by earning -$0.06 versus -$0.27 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings (-$0.01 versus -$0.06).

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Pain Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of novel drugs. Its lead drug candidate is REMOXY painkiller, a novel controlled-release oral capsule form of oxycodone in a viscous liquid formulation matrix that includes novel excipients. The company has a P/E ratio of -100, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Pain has a market cap of $134.4 million and is part of the health care sector and drugs industry. Shares are down 21.1% year to date as of the close of trading on Friday.

You can view the full Pain Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

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