Impax (IPXL) Q4 Earnings & Revenues Miss Estimates, Fall Y/Y

Impax Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ:IPXL) reported fourth-quarter 2017 adjusted earnings of 11 cents per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 12 cents. Moreover, earnings were down 31.3% from 16 cents in the year-ago period’s lower generic product revenue.

Total revenue decreased 7.8% year over year to $182.9 million, mainly due to lower Generic division sales, partially offset by increased specialty products sales.

Revenues also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $196.26 million in the reported quarter.

Following the earnings announcement, Impax’s shares fell almost 3.7% on Thursday. Nonetheless, in the past year, Impax’s shares went up 110.1% against the industry’s decline of 37.7%.

Impax will complete its merger with privately-held Amneal Pharmaceuticals, expectedly in the second quarter of 2018.

Quarter in Detail

During the reported quarter, Impax Generic division’s revenues decreased 18.9% from the year-ago quarter to $112.9 million. The decrease in revenues was due to the lower sales of diclofenac sodium gel, metaxalone, fenofibrate and budesonide. This decrease was partially offset by higher sales of epinephrine auto-injector, the product acquired from Teva Pharmaceuticals, and new product launches.

However, revenues from the Impax Specialty Pharma division were up 18.2% year over year to $70 million, largely due to higher sales of Rytary, which was up 29.8 % to $28.3 million. Sales of Zomig were up 10.7% to $15 million.

Adjusted research and development (R&D) expenses fell 21.9% to $15.6 million in the reported quarter.

Adjusted selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) increased 3.4% to $51.6 million.

2017 Performance

For the full year 2017, adjusted earnings were 63 cents per share compared with $1.16 in 2016. Earnings were in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Revenues for 2017 came in at $775.8 million, down 5.9% from $824.4 million in 2016. Revenues missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $793.3 million.

Other Details

In October 2017, Impax and privately held generic drug maker, Amneal Pharmaceuticals, entered into an all-stock deal to merge and form a new publicly-traded company, Amneal Pharmaceuticals Inc. The combined company will have a diverse pipeline with more than 300 products, either filed with the FDA or in active stages of development. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2018.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Impax currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Some better-ranked stocks in the healthcare sector are Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) , Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:REGN) and Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTA) . Regeneron carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) while Ligand and Enanta carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Ligand’s earnings per share estimates have moved up from $3.78 to $4.15 for 2018 over the last 30 days. The company pulled off positive earnings surprises in three of the trailing four quarters, with an average beat of 24.88%. The share price of the company increased 51.6% over a year.

Regeneron’s earnings per share estimates have moved up from $17.13 to $18.65 and from $20.38 to $21.56 for 2018 and 2019, respectively, in the last 30 days. The company pulled off a positive earnings surprise in three of the last four quarters, with an average beat of 9.15%.

Enanta Pharma delivered a positive earnings surprise in three of the last four quarters, with an average beat of 373.1%. The share price of the company surged 169.9% over a year.

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