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Why Is AMAG Pharmaceuticals (AMAG) Down 24.5% Since Last Earnings Report?

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A month has gone by since the last earnings report for AMAG Pharmaceuticals . Shares have lost about 24.5% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is AMAG Pharmaceuticals 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 drivers.

AMAG's Q4 Loss Narrower Than Expected, Revenues Lag Estimates

AMAG incurred loss from continuing operations of 60 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2018 against earnings of 2 cents reported in the year-ago quarter. Moreover, the figure was narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 98 cents.

Quarterly revenues came in at $88.1 million, down approximately 31.4% from $128.5 million in the year-ago quarter. The top line also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $90.1 million.

Quarter in Detail

AMAG completed the sale of Cord Blood Registry (CBR) last August. Hence, CBR's results have been excluded from the company’s financial results. The company’s long-term strategy focuses on consistent growth and further diversification of its pharmaceutical portfolio.

Makena sales came in at $46.9 million, down 53.2% year over year due to supply disruptions with the subcutaneous auto-injector that resulted in reducing channel inventory and pulled down fourth-quarter net revenues. However, AMAG expects first-quarter 2019 revenues to be positively impacted as inventory levels returned to normal.

Combined sales of Feraheme and MuGard amounted to $35.3 million, up almost 33% year over year. Growth in Feraheme was primarily driven by a strong commercial engagement with customers leading to more client wins by 20%. Intrarosa generated sales of $5.9 million as compared to $1.5 million in the year-ago quarter. The surge in sales can be attributed to an increase in total prescriptions.

Costs and expenses from continuing operations including costs of product sales and services were $107 million, down 24.3% from the year-earlier quarter.

Discontinued Operations

As a result of the sale of CBR, AMAG paid off $475 million of senior notes, eliminating cash interest expense of approximately $40 million per year. CBR has been classified under discontinued operations for accounting purposes.

2019 Outlook

AMAG expects total full-year revenues in the range of $365-$415 million, which is in line with the preliminary results issued on Jan 7, 2019. The Zacks Consensus Estimate stands at $371.8 million, falling well within the guided range.

Other Updates

AMAG acquired AMAG-423, an orphan drug candidate for the treatment of severe preeclampsia, reaffirming its focus on delivering innovative therapies that address unmet medical needs. The company plans to complete full enrollment and start phase IIb/IIIa study on AMAG-423 by this year-end.

AMAG also announced that the FDA has accepted the new drug application (NDA) filling for Vyleesi and has set an action date of Jun 23, 2019. Vyleesi is being evaluated for the treatment of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) in pre-menopausal women. An approval of this candidate will be a big boost to the company as it caters to a huge unmet medical need for women. On approval, AMAG plans to launch Vyleesi in the second half of 2019.

Further, last month, AMAG closed the acquisition of Connecticut-based privately held Perosphere Pharmaceuticals Inc., which will add the latter’s investigational candidate, ciraparantag, to its portfolio. This move will strengthen the company’s expertise in hematology pipeline.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

Fresh estimates followed a flat path over the past two months.

VGM Scores

At this time, AMAG Pharmaceuticals has a poor Growth Score of F, however its Momentum Score is doing a lot better with a B. Following the exact same course, the stock was allocated a grade of B on the value side, putting it in the top 40% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of D. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

AMAG Pharmaceuticals has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.

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