Genentech to Set Biotech Tone For Earnings Season (DNA, OSIP, SGEN, ABT, BIIB)

Thursday after the close, we’ll get to see earnings out of Genentech (NASDAQ: DNA). The estimates from First Call are $0.82 EPS on $3.11 billion in revenues.  Next quarter estimates are $0.86 EPS on $3.24 billion in revenues. Estimates for fiscal Dec-2008 are $3.43 EPS on $13.06 billion in revenues.

Genentech is tied to many other drug and biotech companies because of partnerships, so as the number one biotech stock it has implications in many companies based upon the breakdown of its trends and its individual drug comments.  Below are some of its partners:

• OSI Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: OSIP) for Tarceva,
• Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: SGEN),
• Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT),
• Roche for Avastin 9and ownership),
• and Biogen-Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) for Rituxan.

Analysts have an average price target north of $85.00.  Shares were down almost 1% at $79.00 late today before the market closed.  That price target used to be significantly higher before this on peaked out around $90.00 and fell to under $70.00 in Dec-2007 and Jan-2008.  Genentech’s 52-week trading range is $65.35 to $83.41.

Genentech’s annual meeting of stockholders will also be held on April 15, 2008, so there is another round of much of the same presentation data to see next week.  While the woes of one biotech may be mothers milk for another biotech company, Genentech can create at least somewhat of bias for traders going into an earnings season.  As traders are constantly looking for stocks and sectors with less and less economic sensitivity, that may be more true than in many years and quarters of the past.

Jon C. Ogg
April 7, 2008