Tag Archives: lly

J&J Earnings Beat Estimates; Guidance Raised As FX Headwinds Ease

Medical giant Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) beat Q1 estimates and raised guidance Tuesday morning, sending its stock to its fifth recent record high. J&J reported earnings of $1.68 a share, up 8% from the year-earlier quarter and beating analysts’ consensus by 3 cents, according to Thomson Reuters. Sales rose 0.6% to $17.48 billion, matching consensus. J&J said that the foreign-exchange impact knocked 6.6 percentage points off sales growth. Nonetheless, the forex headwinds finally seem to be abating. J&J cited the improved forex outlook as the reason it was raising full-year sales guidance by $400 million, to $71.2 billion to $71.9 billion. It also added 10 cents to EPS guidance, now $6.53 to $6.68. IBD’s Take: Johnson & Johnson rated No. 1 in its group, but CR is iffy . “Our Pharmaceuticals business continues to deliver impressive levels of growth, we have steady improvement in our Consumer business, and we are seeing momentum in our Medical Devices businesses, all of which are fueling our optimism for the full-year ahead,” J&J CEO Alex Gorsky said in a statement. J&J stock was up 2% in early trading on the stock market today , touching a record high of 113.60 intraday. The stock is up more than 10% for the year so far, and it is the first of three medical stocks that are hitting new highs  and are reporting this week, the others being Intuitive Surgical ( ISRG ) this evening and Stryker ( SYK ) late Wednesday. “This morning, J&J continued the growth momentum the company has seen in recent quarters, again delivering organic sales growth acceleration and its second consecutive quarter of double-digit EPS growth on an adjusted, operational basis,” wrote Leerink analyst Danielle Antalffy in a research note. She noted that, excluding the impact of foreign exchange, M&A activity and shrinking sales of hepatitis C drug Olysio — which was made obsolete when Gilead Sciences ( GILD ) released Harvoni in late 2014 — sales rose 6.9%. Operating EPS growth was just above 10%. Credit Suisse analyst Vamil Divan wrote that the pharma sales beat was driven by the immunology franchise — Remicade, Simponi and Stelara — as well as its stroke prevention treatment Xarelto. But another top seller, diabetes drug Invokana, missed consensus by 19%. Investors had been wondering if Invokana would take a hit from Eli Lilly ‘s ( LLY ) Jardiance, which last September proved that it could dramatically cut deaths from heart failure but didn’t get a sales bump from this in Q4.

Alder BioPharma Migraine Drug Scores In Trial; Stock Spikes

Small biotech Alder BioPharmaceuticals ( ALDR ) soared more than 50% to a two-month high in early trading Monday after its migraine drug candidate succeeded in a mid-stage trial, positioning it to compete with some giant rivals. Alder said that a single intravenous infusion of its monoclonal antibody, ALD403, had significantly reduced migraine days over a 12-week period compared to a placebo. Depending on the dose, between 44% and 57% of patients experienced a 50% reduction in migraine days, while 27% to 33% experienced a 75% reduction. “Evaluation of ALD403 continues to exhibit a potential best-in-class profile, which includes immediate, significant and durable migraine prevention with infrequent quarterly dosing,” Alder CEO Randall Schatzman said in a statement. “With our commitment to the accelerated development of ALD403 reinforced by today’s positive results, we look forward to advancing our development plan, and assuming FDA approval, independently marketing ALD403 in the U.S. to meet the critical medical needs of the 13 million patients nationwide who are candidates for migraine prevention therapy.” Alder’s decision to market its drug without a big-pharma partner, unusual for a small biotech, could pit it against some very big competitors developing similar drugs. ALD403 is an anti-calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) antibody, similar to migraine candidates being developed by Amgen ( AMGN ), Teva Pharmaceutical Industries ( TEVA ) and Eli Lilly ( LLY ). Alder’s drug is distinguished by its infrequent dosing: Amgen and Teva’s drugs are injected once a month, while Lilly’s is biweekly. It would also be competing against Allergan ‘s ( AGN ) Botox, which is also quarterly but involves 31 separate shots. Credit Suisse analyst Vamil Divan wrote that ALD403’s results seem roughly equivalent to Teva’s in terms of effectiveness, but he did note that there was no significant improvement over the placebo in the number of patients who experienced a 100% reduction in migraine days. Between 4% and 8% of patients on the drug achieved this, which was rather lower than the 16% who had been headache-free in a previous trial. Alder stock, like so many other biotech stocks, had lost more than half its value since touching its all-time peak of 54.90 in July. But in early trading on the stock market today , shares were was up some 52% near 26. Image provided by Shutterstock .

5 Big-Name Medical Stocks Show Notable Chart Action

Loading the player… There’s a lot of news breaking in the medical sector today. Let’s take a look at five medical-related stocks with notable charts: Valeant Pharmaceuticals ( VRX ), Eli Lilly ( LLY ), Teva Pharmaceuticals ( TEVA ), Inogen ( INGN ) and Ligand Pharmaceuticals ( LGND ). Valeant Plunges On Results Valeant reported preliminary fourth-quarter earnings that missed expectations and slashed its guidance. The specialty drugmaker warned that it could potentially default if it doesn’t file its annual report by an April deadline. Valeant’s financials are under an ongoing review after a scandal broke out last fall. Shares plunged more than 50% in giant volume, hitting their lowest level in four years. The stock is now trading at 86% below its all-time high reached last August. Late-Stage Trial Change Hits Lilly Eli Lilly crumbled as much as 6% after announcing it’s changing the goal of the phase-three clinical trial for its Alzheimer’s treatment, signaling that the drug can only treat cognitive capabilities and not functional capabilities as well. The decline came in big turnover, and sent shares to a one-year low in intraday trade. Lilly is now 23% below its high reached in September. Teva’s Acquisition Delayed Teva Pharma’s $40.5 billion acquisition of Allergan’s generics unit has been delayed until June as it works to get regulators’ approval. Shares dropped more than 5% in intraday trade. Volume was heavy. Shares are now trading 14% below a consolidation buy point and 21% below their July high. Inogen Beats Views Inogen reported better-than-expected quarterly results on Tuesday. The company makes oxygen tanks for chronic respiratory conditions. The gap-up put shares above their 200-day line in intraday trade, but the stock was struggling to hold above that level as it pared some of its gains. Inogen was able to retake the 50-day line in Monday’s session. It’s now about 27% below its September peak. IBD 50’s Ligand Basing Meanwhile, IBD 50 stock Ligand Pharma is working on a double-bottom base with a potential buy point at 106.08. Shares are currently trading about 7% below the pivot.