Hot AIDS Drug Vaults Agouron Pharma Far
Above 1Q Views>AGPH
By Michael Rapoport
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The market was expecting big things from
Agouron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AGPH) Tuesday afternoon - and the company
didn't disappoint.
Agouron not only reported its first-ever quarterly profit Tuesday but also
topped even the most bullish analysts' estimates. The La Jolla, Calif., biotech
company's performance was led by its hot AIDS drug Viracept, which had
similarly impressive sales numbers for the quarter.
How did analysts view the company's performance? "Big, big, big, big, big,"
said David Molowa, an analyst for Bear Stearns & Co.
Agouron posted net income of 11 cents a share for its fiscal first quarter ended
Sept. 30, easily topping First Call Inc.'s consensus estimate of 5 cents a share
in a survey of nine analysts. Agouron had had an operating profit in its fourth
quarter ended June 30, but Thursday's figures represented its first-ever
bottom-line profit. The company lost 57 cents a share in the year-ago first
quarter.
Just as important, Agouron reported first-quarter sales of $79.5 million for
Viracept - far exceeding the most optimistic expectations.
"That's actually a higher number than we had for each of the three following
fiscal quarters," said Jay Silverman, an analyst for Robertson Stephens & Co.,
who had been expecting Viracept sales of $62 million for the latest quarter.
Molowa said there were "whispers" making the rounds of the market that
Viracept sales might get above $70 million for the quarter, but no one foresaw
just how high sales would be. Agouron had said previously that 1998 Viracept
sales would likely top $250 million, but Molowa thinks that number should be
revised upward in the wake of the first-quarter performance.
"It's definitely a really, really strong showing," Silverman said.
Investors bid Agouron's stock price up in apparent anticipation of the news.
The Nasdaq-traded stock closed at 53 1/4, up 1 7/8, or 3.6%. Volume was
1.4 million shares, compared with average volume of 1.1 million. |
