Tag Archives: oud

Cisco Profit Margin Outlook Bullish As Business Model Shifts

RBC Capital says it’s bullish on the sustainability of Cisco Systems ’ ( CSCO ) gross profit margins in the wake of the networking leader’s fiscal Q3 earnings beat. “Cisco continues to shift toward a recurring revenue business model with lower exposure to legacy routing and switching,” Mitch Steves, an RBC Capital analyst, said in a research report Monday. Steves said RBC is “bullish on gross margins, given about $9 billion to $10 billion in software-related revenue and improved mix post the set-top box divestiture.” Cisco sold its set-top business to French firm Technicolor last July. Steves has an outperform rating on Cisco stock, with a price target of 33. Cisco stock was up 1% in early trading in the stock market today , near 28, after rising Thursday and Friday. Late Wednesday, Cisco said revenue for its fiscal Q3 ended April 30 rose 3% from the year-earlier period, to $12 billion, just beating the consensus estimate of $11.97 billion, as polled by Thomson Reuters. Earnings per share minus items rose 5.6% to 57 cents, edging the consensus of 55 cents. Cisco has a so-so IBD Composite Rating of 64 out of a possible 99. “Cisco is continuing to change its business model, offering switching/routing at lower costs in exchange for higher services/software revenue,” said Steves. “At this point we do not see a material change in margins, given the business model changes.” Cisco rival Juniper Networks ( JNPR ), meanwhile, was downgraded to market perform from outperform by William Blair, where analyst Dmitry Netis has just picked up coverage. In a research note Monday, Netis said the transition from routers and switches to newer technologies, software-defined networking and network function virtualization remains an overhang for Juniper. He also wrote that “the spending environment has not been particularly robust this year,” pointing to Cisco’s earnings last week. Juniper stock was down a fraction, near 22.50, early Monday. Its shares have fallen 18% so far this year, while Cisco stock is up a fraction over the same period.

2 Hotly Debated Drugs Due For FDA Decisions This Week

The FDA is due to decide whether to approve two of the most divisive drugs in the biotech industry this week, both of them crucial for the companies that make them, Sarepta Therapeutics and Intercept Pharmaceuticals. Thursday is the deadline for eteplirsen, Sarepta Therapeutics ‘ ( SRPT ) treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Just getting to the filing took years of negotiation between Sarepta and the FDA, and May 26 is three months later than the decision was originally supposed to be made. And after all that, Wall Street is placing low odds on the drug’s approval. That’s based mainly on last month’s advisory committee meeting on eteplirsen, which voted 7 to 3 (with 3 abstentions) that the drug’s effectiveness wasn’t adequately proven by Sarepta’s tiny clinical trial. Sarepta stock hit a four-year low of 8, on April 26, as multiple analysts downgraded it on the assumption the drug will be rejected. Nonetheless, DMD is a devastating disease without a current treatment, and the families of the children affected have turned into a formidable lobby to get something on the market — especially after BioMarin Pharmaceutical ‘s ( BMRN ) rival drug Kyndrisa was rejected in January. Some observers say the families’ desperation might be enough to move the agency. Oppenheimer analyst Christopher Marai on May 2 upgraded Sarepta on the grounds that, in the past, the FDA has been more flexible in such cases of unmet need. He also pointed out that the stock was now cheap. Sarepta stock has remained volatile but has steadied somewhat the past couple of weeks. On Friday, shares jumped 8.8%, to 19.15. Intercept’s Liver-Disease Treatment Expected To Get OK A day after the Sarepta decision, Intercept Pharmaceuticals ‘ ( ICPT ) liver-disease treatment Ocaliva is due for a verdict. Ocaliva’s advisory committee vote last month went the opposite way of eteplirsen’s, with the panel unanimously supporting approval for the drug, which treats the rare disease primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). As a result, Wall Street generally expects approval. Bears, however, are still growling about Ocaliva’s safety, which they say could limit the drug’s label. The day after the panel vote, Morgan Stanley analyst Andrew Berens drove down Intercept’s stock with the theory that the FDA would discourage use in patients with advanced cirrhosis. This might affect not only the relatively small PBC market, but also the much, much bigger possibilities for Ocaliva in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Intercept is testing the drug in NASH, and approval wouldn’t be for a couple of years, but it’s a major part of the stock’s bull thesis, as analysts see annual sales in the multi-billions. Intercept stock has been on a downtrend this month, but it rose 2.4% this past week. On Friday, shares closed up 2.2%, at 134.28.