Shares of Aerie Pharmaceuticals (AERI) surged in post-market trading after the company said a late-stage study of Roclatan, its eye drop combination designed to lower intraocular pressure in patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertension, met its primary endpoint.

WHAT'S NEW: After the market close, Aeri reported 90-day primary efficacy results of its 12-month Phase 3 "Mercury 1" trial of Roclatan. The study achieved its primary efficacy endpoint demonstrating statistical superiority over each of Roclatan's individual components, including the company's own Rhopressa as well as prostaglandin, the most widely prescribed glaucoma treatment. Specifically, Roclatan's mean diurnal IOP-lowering exceeded that of latanoprost by an average of 1.9mmHg and exceeded Rhopressa by 2.6mmHg, with efficacy levels consistent across the 90-day period for all study arms. Commenting on the results, Aerie CEO Vicente Anido said the data "reconfirms the potential for Roclatan to become the most efficacious IOP-lowering therapy to enter the market," adding that he expects an NDA filing near the end of 2017 if Mercury 1 and Mercury 2 ultimately prove successful.

STREET RESEARCH: The data report comes a day after Aerie was initiated with an Outperform rating and a $48 price target at Raymond James. In addition, Stifel analyst Annabel Samimy said in a research note last week that Aerie was likely to report positive data for Roclatan given the success of the drug's individual components. Samimy maintained a $40 price target and Buy rating on the stock at the time.

PRICE ACTION: In after hours trading, Aerie surged 63.23% to $34.49.