Tag Archives: endp

Akorn Rebounds Further As Q1 Meets Views, Big Investor Ups Stake

Specialty drugmaker Akorn ( AKRX ) was up in early trading Tuesday after its belated Q1 earning report met Wall Street’s expectations and a major investor tripled its stake in the firm. Late Monday, Akorn reported its first-quarter results just a week after it announcing  Q4 and 2015 results , along with restated 2014 earnings, after a year-long repair of its accounting system. It also affirmed the 2016 guidance it issued last month, calling for at least 80% earnings growth over the previous year, with revenue up 8% to 10%. “Akorn’s guidance continues to exclude new approvals, and to us the growth outlook here is going to be about two things: (i) converting the current pipeline of 86 ANDAs (generic-drug applications) in an environment where we are seeing accelerating FDA approval activity, and (ii) pursuing a strategy of targeting bolt-on deal opportunities,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Randall Stanicky wrote in a research note. Akorn said that adjusted net income rose 20% over the year-earlier quarter to 54 cents a share, in line with analysts’ consensus. Revenue rose 18% to $268 million, also in line. The financial uncertainty cut Akorn’s stock price by two-thirds between its April 2015 high and its March 18 low, but since then it’s climbed nearly 70%. In the stock market today , Akorn stock rose 7.6% in heavy volume, to 29.91, and hit a four-month high. Bloomberg also reported that investment management firm Paulson & Co. has become Akorn’s second-largest shareholder , with $219 million in holdings. The report said Paulson also bought into Endo International ( ENDP ), another specialty pharma that fell out of favor with Wall Street after issuing guidance this month that  disastrously missed  estimates, with a Paulson spokeswoman saying many specialty pharma stocks have been oversold.

Valeant Expands Rebates On Two Controversially Priced Heart Drugs

Beleaguered drug giant Valeant Pharmaceuticals International ( VRX ) said Monday that it’s expanding the rebate program on two controversially priced drugs, in one of the first significant policy changes under its new chief executive. Valeant said that, effective immediately, all hospitals buying the drugs are eligible for a rebate of at least 10%, and possibly as high as 40%, depending on the volumes bought per quarter. This will be done largely through group purchasing organizations, but hospitals not using those can contact Valeant’s customer service directly, the company said. Nitropress, used to treat heart failure and high blood pressure, and Isuprel, used in the treatment of heart attacks, gained notoriety last year when Valeant hiked their prices by triple-digit percentages after acquiring them. This, along with some other drug-price scandals, led to Valeant’s management being hauled before a Senate committee, which Valeant CEO Joseph Papa thanked in Monday’s press release for “the attention they have brought to this issue.” Papa just joined the company on May 3, as previous CEO J. Michael Pearson was pushed out after watching the company’s stock tumble almost 90% under the weight of the pricing issue, as well as an accounting scandal. Pearson had already signaled that Valeant isn’t going to be pricing drugs as high as it used to and will no longer be looking for older assets like Nitropress and Isuprel, whose chief attraction is that they could be more expensive. Despite the move, Valeant stock was down 2% in late-morning trading on the stock market today , near 25. The stock so far hasn’t fared much better under Papa than it did under Pearson, hitting a six-year low of 23.54 on Thursday. It didn’t help matters that hedge fund Brahman Capital sold its stake in Valeant , according to Bloomberg, as well as in Endo International ( ENDP ), another troubled specialty drugmaker run by a former Valeant executive.

Teva Stock Rallies After Q1 Earnings, Q2 Guidance Reassure Market

Generic and specialty drug giant Teva Pharmaceutical Industries ( TEVA ) beat analysts’ Q1 earnings estimates and guided Q2 in line with expectations Monday, sending the stock up in early trading. Teva’s Q1 earnings excluding one-time items came to $1.20 a share, down 12% from the year-earlier quarter but 3 cents above analysts’ consensus. Revenue shrank 3.5% to $4.81 billion, but that’s more than $30 million past consensus. Teva guided Q2 earnings at $1.16 to $1.20 a share, down from $1.43 a year ago and bracketing consensus. It forecast Q2 revenue to decline slightly to $4.7 billion to $4.9 billion, on the low side of analysts’ $4.89 billion. Teva stock was up 4.5% in early trading on the stock market today , near 52.50, perhaps as a relief rally after the whole industry got spooked Friday by Endo International ‘s ( ENDP ) comments about pricing pressure in generic drugs , driving it to slash its full-year guidance. Teva stock fell to a more than 18-month low of 50 on Friday. Teva declined to offer 2016 guidance until it closes its buyout of Allergan ‘s ( AGN ) generics unit Actavis, which is expected to happen next month, but its Q2 guide did not suggest a dramatic underperformance. Credit Suisse analyst Vamil Divan did note, however, that the generics business, which makes up about 45% of total revenue, missed Wall Street’s estimate, though this was balanced out by a beat on the specialty side. “U.S. Generics revenues declined 32% year over year, mainly from a decline in sales of Nexium and Pulmicort,” Divan wrote in a research note. “Specialty Medicine revenues increased by 10% year over year, driven primarily by higher sales of CNS (central nervous system) and respiratory products.” Allergan stock, which also sold off Friday, was up 4.5% in early trading Monday. Endo stock was down 2.5%.