AMAG Pharma (AMAG) Q3 Earnings Up Y/Y, Revenues Beat

AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAG) reported adjusted earnings of $1.61 per share in the third quarter of 2016, up approximately 77% from the year-ago figure.

Moreover, including one-time and special items, earnings in the reported quarter came in at 43 cents per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 36 cents.

However, shares of the company lost 2.5% following its third-quarter earnings release.

The company’s quarterly revenues came in at $143.8 million up approximately 50% from the year-ago quarter figure of $96.1 million. The upside was driven by impressive sales of Makena and the addition of Cord Blood Registry (CBR), which was purchased in Aug 2015. Reported revenues also exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $142 million.

Quarter in Detail

Makena sales came in at $93.4 million, up 43% year over year, primarily driven by higher volumes due to the successful launch of the single-dose, preservative-free formulation and robust growth in the company’s Makena @Home program.

Combined sales of Feraheme and MuGard sales amounted to $22.4 million, down 5.8% due to sequentially lower volumes for Ferahame. Feraheme raked in sales of $22.3 million in the quarter. During the quarter, service revenues from CBR came in at $28 million, compared to $7.2 million in the year-ago quarter.

Research and development expenses shot up almost 96.3% to $16.2 million due to development expenses related to the company's next-generation development programs. Likewise, selling, general and administrative expenses were up 23.6% to almost $44 million mainly because of the recognition of a full quarter of CBR-related expenses.

2016 Outlook Tightened

AMAG has tightened its revenue guidance to the range of $523 million to $553 million from the prior projection of $503–$553 million. However, the company is positive to meet the upper end of previous guidance range.

The company also raised the low end of its Makena sales guidance to the range of $330–$340 million from the earlier expectation of $310–$340 million, mainly due to a stronger-than-expected performance of the drug in the third quarter.

The company continues to expect combined Feraheme and MuGard sales in the range of $95–$105 million and CBR revenues in the $115–$125 million band.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

AMAG currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the health care sector include Anika Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ANIK) , Cambrex Corp. (NYSE:CBM) and Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNDA) . Each of these stocks sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Anika’s earnings estimates have increased from $1.96 to $2.06 for 2016 and from $2.03 to $2.09 for 2017 over the last 60 days. The company has posted a positive earnings surprise in all of the four trailing quarters with an average beat of 33.14%. Its share price has increased 9.4% year to date.

Cambrex’s earnings estimates have increased from $2.46 to $2.60 for 2016 and for 2017 estimates remained unchanged over the last 60 days. The company has posted a positive earnings surprise in three of the four trailing quarters with an average beat of 19.78%.

Vanda’s loss estimates have narrowed from 68 cents to 60 cents for 2016 while its earnings estimates have moved up from 16 cents to 17 cents for 2017 over the last 60 days. The company has posted a positive earnings surprise thrice in the four trailing quarters with an average beat of 56.65%. Its share price has surged 53% year to date.

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