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Medical Stocks' Q4 Earnings on Feb 17: RGEN, IRWD & More

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The latest Earnings Trends report reflects continued strength in fourth-quarter performance of the Zacks Medical sector so far. The sales and earnings growth of the sector is likely to have improved this time around.

Overall, the results of the pharma and biotech companies that have reported so far, constituting a portion of the broader Medical sector, have been mixed. Sales of key drugs or large pharma and biotech companies were strong during the fourth quarter. Moreover, vaccines and drugs to prevent or treat COVID-19 have boosted the top line of their respective owners significantly. Several of these pharma/biotech companies expect the growth momentum to continue in 2022. However, pricing pressure for a few drugs hurt growth in the fourth quarter. COVID-19 vaccine prioritization has continued to hurt sales of other vaccines. Meanwhile, we note that sales growth of some drugs were hurt by rising infection rates toward the end of the quarter due to the Omicron variant.

Let's see how things have shaped up for Repligen Corporation (RGEN - Free Report) , Ironwood Pharma (IRWD - Free Report) , Exelixis, Inc. (EXEL - Free Report) and Ligand Pharmaceuticals (LGND - Free Report) in the fourth quarter. These companies are slated to report on Feb 17.

Per the Earnings Trends report, as of Feb 9, 66.1% of the companies in the Medical sector, constituting nearly 85.5% of the sector’s market capitalization, have reported earnings. The proportion of companies that beat earnings and sales estimates was 67.6%. Earnings increased 20.4% year over year on 13% higher revenues.

Overall, fourth-quarter earnings of the Medical sector are expected to rise 25.5% on a 13.8% sales increase, suggesting that the recovery of the Medical sector is likely to have continued till the end of the fourth quarter.

According to the Zacks model, a company needs the right combination of two key ingredients — a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better — to increase the odds of an earnings surprise. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Let’s analyze the four biotech/drug companies set to report fourth-quarter 2021 results on Feb 17.

Repligen

Repligen derives revenues from its different products categories under Filtration, Chromatography and Protein product segments. These products are likely to have maintained their strong growth momentum during the fourth quarter. Repligen’s COVID-19 vaccine-related programs are likely to have brought additional sales. Revenues from gene therapy customers are also likely to have bumped up the top line.

The company’s performance has been encouraging so far, with earnings beating estimates in all the trailing four quarters. Repligen delivered a four-quarter earnings surprise of 49.21%, on average. In the last-reported quarter, the company’s earnings beat estimates by 21.88%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings stands at 65 cents per share. For the quarter to be reported, Repligen has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Repligen Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Repligen Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Repligen Corporation price-eps-surprise | Repligen Corporation Quote

Ironwood Pharma

Ironwood's sole drug Linzess has been performing encouragingly on the back of strong demand and expansion in new patient populations and geographic regions. The strong performance is likely to have continued in the soon-to-be-reported quarter. However, we expect pricing pressure to have partially offset the growth momentum of the drug.

The company’s performance has been encouraging so far, with earnings beating estimates in all the trailing four quarters. Ironwood delivered a four-quarter earnings surprise of 24.18%, on average. In the last-reported quarter, the company’s earnings beat estimates by 6.45%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings stands at 31 cents per share. For the quarter to be reported, Ironwood has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Exelixis

Exelixis announced preliminary results for the fourth quarter last month. The company is estimated to have recorded net product revenues of approximately $300 million, reflecting an increase of almost 50% year over year. The sales growth was driven by strong demand for its lead drug, Cabometyx, for treating advanced renal cell carcinoma in combination with Bristol-Myers’ immuno-oncology drug, Opdivo.

The company’s performance has been mixed so far, with earnings beating estimates in two of the trailing four quarters and missing twice. Exelixis delivered a four-quarter earnings surprise of 140.79%, on average. In the last-reported quarter, the company’s earnings missed estimates by 36.84%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings stands at 8 cents per share. For the quarter to be reported, Exelixis has an Earnings ESP of -38.78% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Exelixis, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Exelixis, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Exelixis, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Exelixis, Inc. Quote

Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand’s performance has been encouraging so far, with earnings beating estimates in all the trailing four quarters. Ligand delivered a four-quarter earnings surprise of 38.25%, on average. In the last-reported quarter, the company’s earnings beat estimates by 54.90%.

Ligand’s top line is likely to have been driven by royalties from sales of drugs developed using its Captisol technology, including Amgen’s blockbuster drug, Kyprolis. Sales of Kyprolis gained 4% year over year, as reported by Amgen earlier this month.

However, sales of another key driver for Ligand’s top line, Gilead’s COVID-19 drug, declined during the fourth quarter. This should result in lower Captisol sales for Ligand during the soon-to-be-reported quarter though the impact remains to be seen.

Ligand may provide an update related to the progress of its planned separation of its business into two separate entities on its fourth-quarter earnings call.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings stands at $1.38 per share. For the quarter to be reported, Ligand has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

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