This specialty pharmacy was founded in 1975, and just went public last month. Share price has ranged from $15.04 - $22.41. Earnings are due November 10.
Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. (DPLO)
from The Oberweis Report
Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. (DPLO) is the nation’s largest independent specialty pharmacy and the fourth largest overall behind Express Scripts, CVS Caremark, and Walgreens. Specialty pharmacies stock and distribute drugs that satisfy any or all of the following criteria: they are extremely expensive, require specialized handling, have challenging reimbursement policies, or require the services of a healthcare professional to administer the drug.
These types of drugs typically treat acute and chronic ailments such as hepatitis, HIV, cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis. Diplomat contracts with both drug manufacturers and insurance companies to grow its business. For drug manufacturers, Diplomat sometimes acts as a limited distribution partner designing a customized launch plan to ensure optimal patient outcomes via patient education and monitoring.
Pharmaceutical and biotech companies also prefer Diplomat because it does not control a pharmacy benefit management company that could provide a conflict of interest with the drug manufacturer. For insurers, Diplomat provides an inventory of limited distribution drugs and a reputation for best patient outcomes that will help control future healthcare costs.
Diplomat became a public company on October 9, 2014. In the company’s second quarter, sales increased approximately 50% to $541.7 million from $361.0 million in the second quarter of last year. Diplomat reported EBITDA of $5.9 million in the second quarter versus $3.7 million in the same quarter of last year—an increase of 59%.
Jim Oberweis, CFA, The Oberweis Report, www.oberweisreport.com, 800-323-6166, November 2014