Why Investors Have to Be Happy With Alexion’s Latest Update

Photo of Chris Lange
By Chris Lange Published
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
Why Investors Have to Be Happy With Alexion’s Latest Update

© Wikimedia Commons

Announcements that Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN) made at its virtual Investor Day about expanding its pipeline and its guidance led to a handy gain in its shares on Tuesday.

The company boasts a robust pipeline, with over 20 development programs across seven rare disease franchises, with expected continued growth from more than five novel investigational new drug applications to the FDA by 2025. Alexion also announced an anticipated 2025 global revenue target of $9 billion to $10 billion, and at least 10% revenue compound annual growth rate through 2025 and beyond.

In the short term, the company said that it plans to raise revenue guidance for the 2020 full year by $200 million when it reports its third-quarter results. Right now, analysts are calling for $2.47 in EPS and $1.39 billion in revenue for the third quarter. For the 2020 full year, consensus estimates are set at $11.00 in EPS and $5.67 billion in revenue.

Separately, Alexion said that it expects to return at least $3 billion to shareholders through a multiyear stock buyback program.

[nativounit]

Management noted that, roughly three years ago, it laid out an ambitious, multiyear strategy to transform Alexion dramatically and position it for the future, as well as drive continued value creation. As a result, Alexion is a very different company than it was in 2017. It is currently in a new stage of company expansion and diversification that provides a path to long-term sustainable growth and allows the firm to reinvest in innovation for the future and return value to shareholders.

Alexion stock traded up over 1% at $116.95 on Tuesday, in a 52-week range of $72.67 to $121.50. The consensus price target is $141.32.

[recirclink id=800187][wallst_email_signup]

Photo of Chris Lange
About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.

Featured Reads

Our top personal finance-related articles today. Your wallet will thank you later.

Continue Reading

Top Gaining Stocks

CBOE Vol: 1,568,143
PSKY Vol: 12,285,993
STX Vol: 7,378,346
ORCL Vol: 26,317,675
DDOG Vol: 6,247,779

Top Losing Stocks

LKQ
LKQ Vol: 4,367,433
CLX Vol: 13,260,523
SYK Vol: 4,519,455
MHK Vol: 1,859,865
AMGN Vol: 3,818,618