Eli Lilly backs $230-$250 mln in 1997 ReoPro sales
By Kevin Drawbaugh
CHICAGO, April 21 (Reuter) - Eli Lilly and Co said Monday it was comfortable with a 1997 sales forecast for its ReoPro blood clot-busting drug in the range of $230 million to $250 million -- a band below present Wall Street estimates.
"The $250 million would be below my expectations ... On my model, I had $300 million for the year total. There seems to be a bit of a slowdown there," said Deutsche Morgan Grenfell pharmaceuticals industry analyst Mariola Haggar.
Lilly shares closed up 1/8 at 85-1/8 Monday after falling early on the ReoPro forecast and other news.
Shares in ReoPro manufacturer and Lilly partner Centocor Inc closed off 6-3/4 at 23-3/4 Monday following Lilly's comments to analysts on a conference call.
On the same call, Lilly said it told analysts that it was comfortable with meeting 1997 Wall Street earnings estimates in the range of $3.18 to $3.20 per share.
"We said we felt comfortable that we could meet the consensus of between $3.18 and $3.20," a Lilly spokesman said.
Analysts said, however, that the company also cautioned that it no longer expects to beat the estimates, and that it may have trouble meeting them if the dollar stays strong.
Lilly said it reiterated on the conference call its position that its PCS Health Services unit is properly valued and that there are no plans for a write-down of assets.
Analysts said speculation is growing, however, that Lilly may write down the pharmaceutical benefits management unit and take a one-time charge on it.
The scenario described Rodman & Renshaw analyst James Keeney and others was that Lilly would offset the PCS charge with a one-time gain from the sale of its stake in its Dow Elanco agricultural chemicals joint venture. Lilly has an option to sell that stake to Dow Chemical Co .
Finally, at its annual meeting Monday, Lilly said it named former Indiana Governor Evan Bayh to its board of directors.
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I expect CNTO to rebound short term but it will retest the support at around $23 again before it moves up. If it breaks down, then we may see the teens before it turns around. Basically, the street expects CNTO to make $1 this fiscal year. So CNTO earns 5 cents in the first quarter. It is getting more difficult now to convince analysts that CNTO can make 95 cents in the next three quarters with the prospect of lower-than-expected Reopro sales. Despite the fact that CNTO is seeking expanded indication for Reopro, it remains to be seen if that indication will be approved in the US by end of 97. Meantime, CNTO needs more positive news from its CenTNF to boost up its stock price. |
