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Horizon's (HZNP) Shares Rise on Q4 Earnings & Sales Beat

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Shares of Horizon Therapeutics Public Limited Company  rose 13.29% after it reported fourth-quarter 2020 adjusted earnings of $1.28 per share, which increased from the year-ago quarterly earnings of 56 cents. The earnings also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.05 per share.

Quarterly sales of $745.3 million were up 105% year over year. The top line also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $694 million. Sales were driven by the strong launch of Tepezza.

Horizon Therapeutics’ share price has skyrocketed 181.8% year to date compared with the industry’s growth of 13.5%.


Quarter in Detail

The company reports financial results under two segments — Orphan and Rheumatology, and Inflammation (previously known as the primary care segment). Notably, first-quarter 2020 onward, the Orphan and Rheumatology segment was renamed the Orphan segment.

Sales in the Orphan segment were $628.2 million, up 151% from the prior-year figure, driven by the continued growth of drugs like Tepezza, Krystexxa, Procysbi and Actimmune.The segment represented 84% of total fourth-quarter net sales.

Krystexxa sales increased 16% year over year to $128.9 million. Tepezza generated net sales worth $343.3 million in the fourth quarter. In January 2020, the FDA approved Tepezza for the treatment of thyroid eye disease (TED).

Ravicti sales were $70.2 million in the quarter, up 3% year over year.

Fourth-quarter 2020 net sales in the Inflammation segment were $117.1 million, up 3% year over year.

Adjusted research and development expenses were $38.3 million, up from $26.5 million in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted SG&A expenses were $240.6 million, up from $161.1 million in the year-ago quarter.

Full-Year 2020 Results

The company reported adjusted earnings of $3.88 per share in 2020, up from $1.94 in 2019. Earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.64 per share.

Sales came in at $2.20 billion in 2020, which increased from $1.30 billion in 2019 and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.15 billion.

2021 Guidance

The company expects 2021 net sales between $2.70 billion and $2.80 billion, indicating 25% growth at the midpoint. THE   Zacks  Consensus Estimate  stands at $2.74  billion. The company expects Tepezza net sales to be greater than $1.275 billion and Krystexxa net sales to be above $500 million.

Other Pipeline Updates

 In January 2021, the company submitted a prior approval supplement to the FDA to support increased scale production of the Tepezza drug product for the treatment of Thyroid TED.

The company expects to initiate a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of Tepezza in patients with chronic TED in the second quarter of 2021, assuming a normalized supply of the drug.

Acquisition

On Jan 31, 2021, the company entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Viela, a biotechnology company with a deep, mid-stage biologics pipeline for autoimmune and severe inflammatory diseases and Uplizna, a recently approved biologic medicine for a rare disease.. The company will acquire all of Viela’s common stock for $53 per share in cash, which represents an equity value of about $2.67 billion.

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

Horizon currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks in the healthcare sector include Acorda Therapeutics Inc. (ACOR - Free Report) , Atea Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AVIR - Free Report) and Clearside Biomedical Inc. (CLSD - Free Report) . All of them carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Acorda’s loss per share estimates have narrowed from $9.66 to $7.91 for 2020 over the past 60 days.

Atea’s earnings per share estimates have increased from $3.53 to $3.70 for 2021 over the past 60 days. Shares of the company have increased 163.6% in the past year.

Clearside’s loss per share estimates have narrowed from 38 cents to 28 cents for 2021 over the past 60 days. Shares of the company have increased 36.1% in the past year.

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