Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ALXN), Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY): Five Drugmakers With a Lot on the Line

Estimates for the quarter call for nearly 11% sales growth to $2.66 billion with flat year-over-year EPS of $0.50. Although the markets will be waiting for an update on sofosbuvir, don’t discount the importance of Stribild sales which represents the cornerstone of HIV treatments. As an educated guess, with $92.1 million in Stribild sales in Q1, and $30 million in Q4, anything less than $150 million this quarter will be viewed as a disappointment in my books.

If there’s one company that certainly has big shoes to fill this earnings season its orphan drug developer Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXN) whose lone drug, Soliris, is anticipated to bring in about $1.5 billion in sales this year. For the quarter, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXN) is forecast to grow revenue by 33% to $365 million with EPS rising 45% to $0.68. Given that Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXN) has topped Wall Street’s EPS estimates by an average of 19% in each of the past four quarters, I’d certainly be expecting an earnings beat if I were a shareholder. My worry here is that with Roche Holding Ltd. (VTX:ROG) demonstrating potential interest in Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXN), even a big boost in its bottom line may not be enough to sustain Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXN) at 34 times forward earnings.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN) might as well be considered a long lost sibling of Alexion, since they are both focused on developing rare orphan drugs which have practically no competition and hefty annual price tags, often in six-figures. However, whereas Alexion is profitable, BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN) has some “‘splaining to do,” as Desi Arnaz used to say. Estimates in the upcoming quarter call for sales growth of just 8% to $134 million with losses expected to widen to $0.29 per share. Naglazyme’s 1% sales increase last quarter didn’t impress at all, so it’ll need Aldurazyme to really step up if it hopes to maintain its frothy valuation.

The article 5 Drugmakers With a Lot on the Line Next Week originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Sean Williams.

Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.The Motley Fool recommends BioMarin Pharmaceutical and Gilead Sciences.

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