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Biotech / Medical : Sepracor-Looks very promising -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BMcV who wrote (1752)	2/18/1999 4:02:00 PM
From: Sir Auric Goldfinger	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10280

Thanks, we just called the analysts and MSDW guy was outtatown. Even if you discount it back at a 20%+ growth rate, it's huge.

To: BMcV who wrote (1752)	2/18/1999 5:18:00 PM
From: RCMac	Respond to of 10280

Here is the link to the Reuters story: biz.yahoo.com >>Thursday February 18, 3:13 pm Eastern Time Sepracor soars on robust earnings guidance By Ransdell Pierson NEW YORK, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Sepracor Inc. (Nasdaq:SEPR - news) shares jumped to a new high Thursday after the company, which is now losing money, endorsed a bullish earnings forecast for the years 2001-2003. Chief Financial Officer David Southwell told Reuters that he believed an earnings per share forecast by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter analyst Douglas Lind of $13.48 for the year 2003 was ''conservative.'' Southwell said he agreed with the ''underlying assumptions'' behind Lind's forecast of $5.69 per share for the year 2001 and $10.38 for 2002. Shares of the Massachussetts-based biotech company were up 9-7/16 at 128 on the Nasdaq. The previous intraday high for the company, which specializes in making safer versions of existing drugs, was 121-3/8. ''We think we should be able to do in excess of that ($13.48 per diluted share in 2003). We think that number is conservative,'' said Southwell, reached in London by telephone. Sepracor in 1998 elevated its profile by licensing improved versions of major prescription drugs to three of the country's largest drug makers, Eli Lilly and Co (NYSE:LLY - news), Schering-Plough Corp (NYSE:SGP - news) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - news). Southwell said his company planned to license out several more drugs in 1999, but declined to identify the compounds or the names of companies with which he is negotiating. He said the drugs were among nine the company hopes to license to other companies for royalties in coming years, all protected by secured or pending patents. He said the drugs would target therapeutic areas now worth $8 billion a year in sales. The compounds include chemically altered versions of the Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE - news) hypertension drug Norvasc, the Glaxo Wellcome Plc (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: GLXO.L) asthma drug Serevent and the Johnson & Johnson antifungal Sporanox, Southwell said. Additionally, Southwell said Sepracor hoped to retain full rights to another nine drugs, also improved versions of products developed and now sold by other companies. He said those drugs had a multibillion-dollar annual sales potential and included a version of Pfizer's drug Cardura for treatment of enlarged prostate and of Glaxo's antidepressant Wellbutrin.<< _________ One thing I continue to find interesting (and wonderful, not to mention profitable) about biotech investing with the aid of SI participants is that most of what's in the Reuters article isn't particularly news to readers of this thread. Southwell (whose title at SEPR probably should be "VP for enthusiasm") has said nearly all of this before to analysts meetings, in particular the thought that analysts' projections in the $12-14 range might well be "conservative," and those comments have been quoted on this thread. What gave the stock its nice kick today - up 16% today alone, to 137 1/4 from 88 1/8 at 12/31 -- is that the same comments finally made it onto Reuters and (therefore?) onto CNBC. --RCM