Acorda (ACOR) Q4 Earnings Top Estimates, Revenues Fall Y/Y

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACOR) reported fourth-quarter 2019 loss per share of 15 cents, much narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 41 cents. However, the figure came in against the year-ago earnings of 45 cents.

The company generated total revenues of $50.5 million in the fourth quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $45.1 million. However, sales declined 26.9% year over year due to lower sales of its multiple sclerosis (MS) drug Ampyra.

Shares of Acorda were down 4.5% following this news on Thursday. In fact, the stock has plunged 86.6% in the past year compared with the industry’s decrease of 4.1%.

Quarter in Detail

Acorda’s newly approved Parkinson's disease (PD) inhalation therapy Inbrija registered sales of $6.1 million in the reported quarter, accounting for a sequential increase of 24.5%. However, Inbrija sales were slightly less than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.4 million.

Notably, the FDA approved Inbrija in December 2018. Following this nod, the drug became the first and the only approved inhaled levodopa for treating OFF periods in patients suffering Parkinson’s and receiving a carbidopa / levodopa regimen. Inbrija was launched in February 2019.

Meanwhile, in September 2019, Inbrija was granted a marketing approval by the European Commission (EC) and the drug could be launched in EU in 2020. This should boost the drug’s sales in the future quarters.

On the fourth-quarter conference call, management stated that it has been successfully increasing physician awareness of Inbrija in the United States. However, it will now lay an emphasis on prioritizing patient awareness related to Inbrija.

Notably, the majority of Acorda’s net product revenues come from the company’s MS drug Ampyra, which generated sales of $40.8 million in the fourth quarter, reflecting a 36.4% plunge year over year due to generic launches. However, sale of the drug grew 8.5% sequentially.

Sales erosion due to generic competition has been pulling Ampyra’s revenues down for some time now. Acorda believes that Ampyra sales will continue to see a sharp decline in the quarters ahead.

In September 2018, Ampyra lost its exclusivity as generics like Mylan’s (NASDAQ:MYL) authorized generic version entered the market.

Meanwhile, royalty revenues were $3.1 million in the quarter, up 10.7% from the year-ago reported figure.

Research and development (R&D) expenses (excluding share-based compensation expenses) were $8.4 million, down 67.5% year over year.

Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses (excluding share-based compensation expenses) were $39.2 million, up 18.8% year over year.

Full-Year Results

For 2019, Acorda’s revenues of $192.4 million were down 59.2% year over year.

Adjusted loss per share of $1.72 came in against earnings of $2.18 a year ago.

For 2019, Ampyra recorded net revenues of $163.2 million, reflecting a year-over-year decrease of 64.1%. Inbrija generated $15.3 million of sales in 2019.

2020 Guidance

Along with the earnings release, Acorda reiterated its financial outlook for the current year which it provided last month.

The company expects total product revenues in the range of $120-$150 million for the full year while total revenues are projected in the band of $130-$160 million.

Inbrija’s net revenues for the full year are predicted in the bracket of $35-$40 million.

For 2020, the company envisions Ampyra net revenues within $85-$110 million. Operating expenses for the period are forecast within $170-$180 million.

Other Updates

In October 2019, Acorda announced a corporate restructuring, following which management said that it will trim the workforce by almost 25%. The company expects to realize estimated annualized cost savings of approximately $21 million owing to headcount reduction.

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Acorda currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in the biotech sector include Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA) and Vericel Corp. (NASDAQ:VCEL) , both sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Kala Pharmaceuticals’ loss per share estimates have narrowed 0.9% for 2020 over the past 60 days.

Vericel’s earnings estimates have been revised 12.5% upward for 2020 over the past 60 days.

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