Regeneron Falls on Missed Earnings

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) reported its fourth-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Tuesday. The company had $2.83 in earnings per share (EPS) on $1.10 billion in revenue, which compares to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters of $3.36 in EPS on revenue of $1.17 billion. In the same period of the previous year, it posted EPS of $2.79 and $802.33 million in revenue.

In the fourth quarter, net domestic sales of Eylea increased 44% to $746 million from last year’s $518 million. Overall distributor inventory levels remained within the company’s one- to two-week targeted range.

The company has 13 product candidates in clinical development. These consist of Eylea and 12 fully human monoclonal antibodies generated using the company’s VelocImmune technology, including four in collaboration with Sanofi.

Leonard S. Schleifer, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of Regeneron, commented:

Regeneron had a successful 2015, with strong growth in EYLEA sales for retinal diseases, the approval of Praluent for hypercholesterolemia, and important advances across all stages of our pipeline. In 2016, we look forward to driving increased physician education, patient access, and reimbursement for Praluent in the United States and to launching this important medicine in other countries around the world. We also anticipate significant pipeline progress including the U.S. FDA action on the sarilumab application for rheumatoid arthritis, the Phase 3 results and potential U.S. regulatory submission for dupilumab in atopic dermatitis, and the continued progress of our development programs for retinal diseases, asthma, pain, infectious diseases, and cancer. Realizing these important product and pipeline opportunities will require significant investments, which are essential to support our long-term growth and success.

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On the books, cash and marketable securities totaled $1.68 billion at the end of the quarter, compared to $1.36 billion in the same period from the previous year.

Shares of Regeneron closed Monday down 1.5% at $390.53, with a consensus analyst price target of $587.90 and a 52-week trading range of $376.61 to $605.93. Following the release of the earnings report, shares were down an additional 6.7% at $ 364.40.