NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- CTI Biopharma (CTIC) - Get Report shares are up 6.42% to $2.82 in trading on Monday after the company reported positive phase III study results for its experimental myelofibrosis treatment, pacritinib.

The company said that the drug significantly reduced the spleen size of patients affected by myelofibrosis compared to patients treated with the best alternative care. The precise results were not made available by the company in its release today.

Myelofibrosis is a bone marrow disease in which abnormal bone marrow stem cells produces scar tissue that replaces healthy bone marrow. The disease is diagnosed in about 3,500 Americans annually. 

CTI reported that the most significant side effects associated with the treatment are diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, with three of the 327 potential patients being treated with the drug having to discontinue use and nine needing to have dosages reduced.

TheStreet's Adam Feuerstein has in depth coverage of the phase III study here.

TheStreet Ratings team rates CTI BIOPHARMA CORP as a Sell with a ratings score of E+. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate CTI BIOPHARMA CORP (CTIC) a SELL. This is based on the dominance of unfavorable investment measures, which should drive this stock to significantly underperform the majority of stocks that we rate. The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its poor profit margins and generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

• The gross profit margin for CTI BIOPHARMA CORP is rather low; currently it is at 19.56%. Despite the low profit margin, it has increased significantly from the same period last year. Despite the mixed results of the gross profit margin, CTIC's net profit margin of 11.64% is significantly lower than the industry average.
• CTIC's stock share price has done very poorly compared to where it was a year ago: Despite any rallies, the net result is that it is down by 30.44%, which is also worse that the performance of the S&P 500 Index. Investors have so far failed to pay much attention to the earnings improvements the company has managed to achieve over the last 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 Biotechnology industry and the overall market, CTI BIOPHARMA CORP's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.
• CTI BIOPHARMA CORP reported significant earnings per share improvement in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past two years. However, we anticipate underperformance relative to this pattern in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, CTI BIOPHARMA CORP continued to lose money by earning -$0.47 versus -$2.43 in the prior year. For the next year, the market is expecting a contraction of 14.9% in earnings (-$0.54 versus -$0.47).
• Despite currently having a low debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, it is higher than that of the industry average, inferring that management of debt levels may need to be evaluated further. Despite the fact that CTIC's debt-to-equity ratio is mixed in its results, the company's quick ratio of 1.70 is high and demonstrates strong liquidity.
• You can view the full analysis from the report here: CTIC Ratings Report