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Biotech / Medical : Immunex -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Guy Gordon who wrote (478)	1/25/2001 6:40:51 PM
From: opalapril	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 656

What's the literal interpretation of the pretty ugly statement "flat growth?" A stupid question. It is an open secret that this written statement on frequent occasions is clearly misunderstood, especially by the small crowd of day-trading investors who depend on unbiased analyst recommendations for ... (ahem) ... profitable biotechnology companies. But I will resist the awful temptation to engage in murky definitions of that oxymoron. <gg> Meanwhile.... Shares of Immunex (IMNX: news, msgs) dropped $1.13 to $33.25 after analyst John Roehm of Banc of America cut the stock's target price to $50 from $61. On Wednesday, the Seattle-based company surpassed Wall Street's consensus estimates, posting fourth-quarter earnings of $49.2 million, or 9 cents a share, up from $16.2 million, or 3 cents, in last year's fourth quarter. Revenue jumped to $248.8 million from $158.8 million in the same period a year earlier. In cutting price his target, however, Roehm cited capacity constraints related to Enbrel -- the company's a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and Immunex's flagship drug. "Because of the capacity constraints, new patients will not be added until additional supply becomes available," Roehm said in a research note. "We expect natural attrition of 1 percent per month to reduce the number of patients on Enbrel, and revenues to decline sequentially on a quarterly basis during 2001" The firm still expects 40,000 new patients in 2002, but cautioned that the additions will be to a lower base of patients at the end of 2001. B of A reduced its 2002 Enbrel projection to $1.01 billion from $1.25 billion. cbs.marketwatch.com