It’s been a shining year so far for RxSight Inc., which makes an eye lens that can be customized after cataract surgery, which it claims is the only such product on the market.
The Aliso Viejo-based maker of intraocular lens (IOL) on May 6 reported first-quarter revenue soared 69% to $29.5 million, topping the average analyst estimate of $27.6 million. It also raised its annual forecast by $2 million to $4 million to $132 million to $137 million, up 48% to 54% from 2023.
“We believe we are establishing a new standard for premium IOL offerings in the U.S.,” Chief Executive Ron Kurtz said in a May 6 statement.
RxSight’s gross margin jumped to 70% from 59% a year ago, while its adjusted net loss fell in half to $4.4 million.
Initially, investors were skeptical. After the company went public in 2021 at $17.50 a share, the price dropped below $10 in 2022.
However, at press time, it traded at $59.01, for a $2.2 billion market cap. In the week after the results, analysts boosted their average target price from $61 to about $73.
A few days after the company’s first-quarter financial results, RxSight said it would sell 1.79 million shares at $56 each to raise about $100 million. RxSight said it intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for continued commercial expansion, including internationally, research and clinical development and for working capital and general corporate purposes.
Strong ’24 Start
RxSight started in 1997 on the idea from a Nobe Prize-winning scientist that a man-made lens inside an eye could be adjusted after cataract surgery by using lights.
By contrast, in typical cataract surgery, the natural lens that has become cloudy is replaced with a man-made lens that is adjusted to the person’s sight before the surgery. After the surgery, if the patient still cannot see well enough, prescription glasses are ordered.
In RxSight’s system, the cataract is removed, and replaced with a Light Adjustable Lens (LAL). A few days after the surgery, the company’s Light Delivery Device (LDD) uses proprietary software and algorithms to deliver a short UV exposure treatment that, it says, can adjust the lens in less than 60 seconds. RxSight estimated about 80% of its patients have 20/20 vision afterward.
In the most recent quarter, the firm sold 20,218 Light Adjustable Lenses, a 92% increase in procedure volume compared to the year earlier period. It also sold 66 Light Delivery Devices, expanding the installed base to 732 offices. The company estimates that there are 8,000 ophthalmic surgeons in the U.S.
“The favorable shift in product mix toward LAL sales drove the increase in gross profit in the quarter, along with reduced costs to produce LALs, primarily due to higher production volumes and increased margin on the LDD due to lower material costs,” the company said.
Approximately 31 million cataract surgeries were performed globally in 2023, including 4.7 million in the U.S., according to RxSight. In 2023, the total addressable market for premium intraocular lenses was $2.4 billion globally and expected to grow at 11% annually.
In April, the company introduced its newest lens, the LAL+, designed to extend the depth of focus.
RxSight’s lenses were shown in more than 20 formal sessions at a recent annual meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, the second largest U.S. ophthalmic conference with over 5,000 attendees, Kurtz said.
“We believe that when patients understand the full benefits of adjustability, they are more likely to choose an LAL over a fixed lens alternative and thereby optimize their vision in ways that are meaningful to them,” Kurtz told analysts.
