Between the time markets closed on Tuesday and before they opened again on Wednesday, more than 600 U.S.-listed firms reported quarterly results. We have included quick takes on some of these stocks in earlier reports.

After markets close Wednesday, seven firms we have covered in our previews will report results: Ford, Meta Platforms, PayPal and Qualcomm, as well as Altria, Las Vegas Sands and Sirius XM.
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Companies reporting before Thursday’s opening bell will include Caterpillar, Peabody Energy and Southwest Airlines, as well as Comcast, McDonald’s and Twitter.

We have previewed results due Thursday afternoon from Amazon, Apple and Robinhood, as well as from Intel, Roku and U.S. Steel. These reports also include roundups of the most recent quarterly results.

Here is a look at three pharmaceutical makers set to report results first thing Friday morning.

AbbVie

Pharmaceuticals giant AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) posted an all-time high share price earlier this month, and shares have added more than 43% over the past 12 months. The company’s Humira anti-inflammatory drug loses patent protection in January and that is giving investors and analysts pause. But two new drugs are expected to pick up at essentially all the forecast decline by 2026. By that same year, AbbVie is expected to be the world’s largest maker of prescription drugs.

Brokerage firms remain bullish on AbbVie, with 17 of 24 having Buy or Strong Buy ratings and another six rating the shares at Hold. At a recent price of around $158.00 a share, the implied gain based on a median price target of $167.50 is 6%. At the high price target of $192, the implied gain is 21.5%.

Estimates for the first quarter of fiscal 2022 call for revenue of $13.626 billion, which would be down 8.5% sequentially but 5.3% higher year over year, while adjusted earnings per share (EPS) are pegged at $3.14, down 5% sequentially and up about 6.4% year over year. For the full fiscal year, analysts are currently looking for EPS of $14.18, a gain of 11.7% year over year, and sales of $60.23 billion, up 7.3%.

AbbVie stock trades at 11.1 times expected 2022 EPS, 12.8 times estimated 2023 earnings of $12.31 and 12.7 times estimated 2024 earnings of $12.42 per share. The stock’s 52-week range is $105.56 to $175.91, and AbbVie pays an annual dividend of $5.64 (yield of 3.61%). Total shareholder return over the past year is 47.1%.

AstraZeneca

Drugmaker AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE: AZN) has seen a share price gain of around 29.3% over the past 12 months. For the year to date, the shares are up more than 15%. Now that the Alexion acquisition is complete, AstraZeneca is expected to report a big increase in revenue. Demand for COVID-19 vaccines has cooled, although that will have little impact on revenues because the company’s Vaxveria never matched the reception of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
Of 25 analysts covering AstraZeneca, 21 have a Buy or Strong Buy rating on the shares, and another two rate the stock at Hold. At a share price of around $66.10, the implied upside on the stock at a median price target of $69.50 is 5.1%. At the high price target of $82, upside potential is around 24%.
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For the company’s fiscal first quarter, analysts are forecasting revenue of $10.96 billion, a decrease of 8.8% sequentially but an increase of 49.7% year over year. Adjusted EPS are tabbed at $1.13, down by about 32.1% sequentially and by 30.1% year over year. For full fiscal 2022, the current revenue estimate is $43.71 billion, up 16.78%, and the EPS estimate is $4.00, down 24.4%.

AstraZeneca stock trades at 32.9 times expected 2022 EPS, 29.1 times estimated 2023 earnings of $4.53 and 20.3 times estimated 2024 earnings of $6.39 per share. The stock’s 52-week range is $50.66 to $71.70. AstraZeneca pays an annual dividend of $1.44 (yield of 2.21%). Total shareholder return for the past year was 28.8%.

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Bristol-Myers Squibb

A third pharmaceutical giant, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY), has added about 18.5% to its share price over the past 12 months. The shares have risen more or less steadily since falling to a 52-week low in late November to touch a new all-time high earlier this month. That reflected a jump of more than 43% in less than four months. Bristol-Myers can claim full or part ownership of three of last year’s top-selling drugs, its free cash flow totaled $15.2 billion last year, and it pays a solid dividend.

Of 24 analysts covering the drugmaker, 14 have a Buy or Strong Buy rating and another eight rate the stock at Hold. At a share price of around $75.70, the implied upside on the stock at a median price target of $77.50 is about 2.4%. At the high price target of $94, upside potential is 24.2%.

For the company’s first fiscal quarter, analysts are expecting revenue of $11.34 billion, a decrease of 5.4% sequentially and an increase of 2.4% year over year. Adjusted EPS are tabbed at $1.89, up by 3.4% sequentially and by 8.6% year over year. For full fiscal 2022, the current revenue estimate is $447.1 billion, up 1.6%, and the EPS estimate is $7.74, up 3%.

Bristol-Myers stock trades at 9.8 times expected 2022 EPS, 9.2 times estimated 2023 earnings of $8.23 and 8.9 times estimated 2024 earnings of $8.51 per share. The stock’s 52-week range is $53.22 to $78.17. The company pays an annual dividend of $2.16 (yield of 2.86%). Total shareholder return for the past year was 18.5%.

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