Horizon Pharma Sees Record Quarter Ahead

By Chris Lange Published Jul 20, 11:20AM EDT

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Horizon Pharma PLC (NASDAQ: HZNP) announced Monday morning that it expects its second-quarter financial results will be of record proportion. The company expects to have net sales in the range of $170 million to $172 million, compared to Thomson Reuters consensus estimates of $138.26 million with $0.25 in earnings per share (EPS). The same period from last year had $0.21 in EPS on $66.06 million in revenue.

In terms of the full year, Horizon Pharma expects net sales to be in the range of $660 million to $680 million.

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of June 2015 are expected to be approximately $668 million, an increase of $124 million from the March 2015, and a cash and cash equivalents balance of $544 million.

Separately, the company announced on July 7 a proposal to acquire all outstanding shares of Depomed Inc. (NASDAQ: DEPO) for $29.25 per share in an all-stock, tax-free exchange valued at about $3.0 billion. Horizon Pharma’s proposal represented a premium of 42%, compared to the previous closing price. The transaction would be immediately and substantially accretive to EPS.

Timothy P. Walbert, chairman, president and CEO of Horizon Pharma, said:

Our expected second quarter sales results significantly exceed expectations, driven by rapidly accelerating prescription growth in our primary care and specialty business units and the continued addition of new patients to Actimmune and Ravicti. This outperformance is a testament to Horizon’s commercial execution and also demonstrates our ability to enhance the growth of medicines we add to our highly successful commercial model.

He continued:

Our anticipated results and the increase in our sales and adjusted earnings guidance should provide additional confidence to both Horizon and Depomed shareholders that a combination of the companies would create substantial immediate and long-term value.

Shares of Horizon were up 5.2% at $38.99 Monday morning. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $39.88 and a 52-week trading range of $7.85 to $39.49.

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.