Advertisement
Singapore markets closed

  • Straits Times Index

    3,293.13
    +20.41 (+0.62%)
     

  • S&P 500

    5,070.55
    +59.95 (+1.20%)
     

  • Dow

    38,503.69
    +263.71 (+0.69%)
     

  • Nasdaq

    15,696.64
    +245.33 (+1.59%)
     

  • Bitcoin USD

    66,389.75
    +261.64 (+0.40%)
     

  • CMC Crypto 200

    1,434.73
    +10.63 (+0.75%)
     

  • FTSE 100

    8,091.73
    +46.92 (+0.58%)
     

  • Gold

    2,330.60
    -11.50 (-0.49%)
     

  • Crude Oil

    83.02
    -0.34 (-0.41%)
     

  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.5980
    -0.0250 (-0.54%)
     

  • Nikkei

    38,460.08
    +907.92 (+2.42%)
     

  • Hang Seng

    17,201.27
    +372.34 (+2.21%)
     

  • FTSE Bursa Malaysia

    1,571.48
    +9.84 (+0.63%)
     

  • Jakarta Composite Index

    7,174.53
    +63.72 (+0.90%)
     

  • PSE Index

    6,572.75
    +65.95 (+1.01%)
     

Regeneron slips after getting a boost from outlook

Regeneron returns some gains; analyst says shares will underperform peers in early 2014

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals gave up some of their gains Wednesday, a day after a solid sales outlook lifted the company's stock.

THE SPARK: Regeneron shares rose 12 percent Tuesday after the company said it expects $400 million in U.S. sales of its drug Eylea. That was about $7 million more than analysts had expected. The company also announced a new development partnership with Bayer HealthCare, which markets Eylea in countries outside the U.S. The two companies say they will work on a new treatment for "wet" age-related macular degeneration that could work in combination with Eylea.

THE BIG PICTURE: The Tarrytown, N.Y., company markets Eylea as a treatment for "wet" age-related macular degeneration and a form of macular edema. Regeneron is responsible for U.S. marketing while the companies share profits on sales elsewhere. Regeneron says it will report around $1.4 billion in total U.S. sales of Eylea in 2013, which is above its previous forecasts. The drug brings in the majority of its revenue.

THE ANALYSIS: Citi Investment Research analyst Yaron Werber said the company's sales were a bit better than expected, but most of the gains came from customers building up their stockpiles of Eylea rather than an increase in demand for the drug. Weber said shares of Regeneron will underperform competing stocks in the first half of 2014 because one of the company's most important drug candidates, the cholesterol treatment alirocumab, is on pace to reach the market after a competing drug being developed by Amgen Inc.

ADVERTISEMENT

Werber rates Regeneron shares "Neutral," and he trimmed his price target to $339 per share from $340.

He said shares of Biogen Idec Inc., Celgene Corp., and Gilead Sciences Inc. will do better than Regeneron shares in the first half of this year, but later in the year Regeneron should report new clinical trial data for alirocumab and win a broader marketing approval for Eylea, which will help the stock.

SHARE ACTION: Regeneron shares lost $11.44, or 3.8 percent, to $288.88 in midday trading. The stock has risen 71.8 percent over the last 12 months.