Will Opdivo and Opdivo Qvantig Drive BMY's Top-Line Growth?

Bristol Myers BMY has a robust oncology portfolio, including the blockbuster immune-oncology drugs, Opdivo, Opdivo Qvantig and Yervoy, among others.

Opdivo is a key drug in BMY’s growth portfolio that is approved for several oncology indications. The drug, approved for numerous oncology indications, is one of the top revenue generators for BMY.

Consistent label expansion of the drug has enabled it to maintain momentum. Opdivo sales were approximately $2.5 billion in the third quarter, up 7%, driven primarily by continued demand. U.S. sales are being driven by a strong launch in MSI-high colorectal cancer and continued growth in first-line non-small cell lung cancer, while international sales are supported by label expansions of the drug.

The approval of Opdivo Qvantig (nivolumab and hyaluronidase-nvhy) injection for subcutaneous use has bolstered Opdivo’s franchise. The initial uptake has been strong. Sales totaled $67 million in the third quarter, fueled by continued use across all indicated tumor types as well as the permanent J-Code received in the quarter.

The company now expects global Opdivo sales, together with Qvantig, to increase in the high single digit to low double-digit range in 2025 (previous guidance: mid to high single-digit range in 2025), driven by strong performance year to date.

We note that BMY is currently banking on the label expansion of approved drugs and approval of new drugs to stabilize its revenue base, as its legacy drugs (Revlimid, Pomalyst, Sprycel and Abraxane) face generic competition.

Competition for BMY’s Oncology Drugs

While the label expansion of Opdivo is positive, the immuno-oncology space is dominated by pharma giant Merck’s MRK blockbuster drug Keytruda (pembrolizumab), along with Roche’s RHHBY Tecentriq.

Keytruda is approved for several types of cancer and alone accounts for more than 50% of MRK’s pharmaceutical sales. Merck is currently working on different strategies to drive long-term growth of Keytruda.

Roche’s immuno-oncology Tecentriq is also approved for various oncology indications — early-stage (adjuvant) NSCLC, small cell lung cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma and breast cancer, among others.  In addition to intravenous infusion, Roche has also obtained approval for Tecentriq as a subcutaneous injection.

BMY’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

Shares of Bristol Myers have lost 12.9% year to date against the industry’s growth of 19.5%.

From a valuation standpoint, BMY is trading at a discount to the large-cap pharma industry. Going by the price/earnings ratio, BMY’s shares currently trade at 8.17x forward earnings, lower than its mean of 8.40x and the large-cap pharma industry’s 17.47X.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings per share has moved north in the past 60 days, while that for 2026 EPS has moved south.

BMY currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).  You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.


 

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research