A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. . Shares have lost about 11.3% in that time frame, underperforming the market.
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to the stock's next earnings release, or is it due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.
Achillion Reports Narrower-Than-Expected Fourth Quarter Loss
Achillion Pharmaceuticals reported a loss of $0.03 per share in the fourth quarter, significantly narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate loss of $0.18. In the year-ago quarter, the company had reported a gain of $0.12 per share.
The company generated revenues of $15.0 million in the reported quarter as against $31.6 million a year ago. The fourth-quarter revenues mainly comprised a milestone payment received from partner, Janssen, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. The payment was made after the advancement of JNJ-4178 – a triple combination of odalasvir, simeprevir, and AL-33 – into phase IIb studies.
Research and development expenses increased 56.3% from the year-ago period to $15 million due to increased manufacturing, clinical trial and consulting costs related to pipeline candidate ACH-4471. The increase in expenses was partially offset by decreased costs related to the HCV compounds that were licensed to Janssen in 2015.
General and administrative expenses were down 3.6% to $5.3 million owing to lower business consulting and corporate legal fees related to the Janssen agreement, partially offset by higher personnel and non-cash stock compensation related to an increase in personnel.
2017 Guidance
The company expects net loss per share for fiscal 2017 in the range of $0.70 to $0.75 per share.
Research and development (R&D) expenses are expected to be in the range of $75–80 million. Net cash used in operating activities in 2017 is anticipated to be approximately $70–75 million based on current operating plans, anticipated timelines and the estimated cost of clinical trials and product development programs.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
Analysts were quiet during the last two month period as none of them issued any earnings estimate revisions.
VGM Scores
At this time, Achillion's stock has a poor score of 'F' on both growth and momentum front. Charting a exact same path, the stock was allocated a grade of 'F' on the value side, putting it in the fifth quintile for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of 'F'. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
Our style scores indicate investors will probably be better served looking elsewhere.
Outlook
The stock has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We are expecting an inline return from the stock in the next few months.
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Why Is Achillion (ACHN) Down 11.3% Since the Last Earnings Report?
A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. . Shares have lost about 11.3% in that time frame, underperforming the market.
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to the stock's next earnings release, or is it due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.
Achillion Reports Narrower-Than-Expected Fourth Quarter Loss
Achillion Pharmaceuticals reported a loss of $0.03 per share in the fourth quarter, significantly narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate loss of $0.18. In the year-ago quarter, the company had reported a gain of $0.12 per share.
The company generated revenues of $15.0 million in the reported quarter as against $31.6 million a year ago. The fourth-quarter revenues mainly comprised a milestone payment received from partner, Janssen, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. The payment was made after the advancement of JNJ-4178 – a triple combination of odalasvir, simeprevir, and AL-33 – into phase IIb studies.
Research and development expenses increased 56.3% from the year-ago period to $15 million due to increased manufacturing, clinical trial and consulting costs related to pipeline candidate ACH-4471. The increase in expenses was partially offset by decreased costs related to the HCV compounds that were licensed to Janssen in 2015.
General and administrative expenses were down 3.6% to $5.3 million owing to lower business consulting and corporate legal fees related to the Janssen agreement, partially offset by higher personnel and non-cash stock compensation related to an increase in personnel.
2017 Guidance
The company expects net loss per share for fiscal 2017 in the range of $0.70 to $0.75 per share.
Research and development (R&D) expenses are expected to be in the range of $75–80 million. Net cash used in operating activities in 2017 is anticipated to be approximately $70–75 million based on current operating plans, anticipated timelines and the estimated cost of clinical trials and product development programs.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
Analysts were quiet during the last two month period as none of them issued any earnings estimate revisions.
Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Price and Consensus
Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Price and Consensus | Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Quote
VGM Scores
At this time, Achillion's stock has a poor score of 'F' on both growth and momentum front. Charting a exact same path, the stock was allocated a grade of 'F' on the value side, putting it in the fifth quintile for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of 'F'. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
Our style scores indicate investors will probably be better served looking elsewhere.
Outlook
The stock has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We are expecting an inline return from the stock in the next few months.