What's In Store For Catalyst Pharma (CPRX) Q1 Earnings?

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) is slated to report first-quarter 2019 results.

The company’s earnings surpassed expectations in one of the previous four quarters, the average positive surprise being 2.08%.

Catalyst Pharma’s share price has skyrocketed 195.9% compared with the industry’s growth of 9.6% year to date.

Let's see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

Factors to Consider

Catalyst Pharma’s lead product, Firdapse (amifampridine) tablets, secured the FDA approval for the treatment of Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome (LEMS) in adults last November. Firdapse is the first treatment for LEMS that got an FDA nod. This achievement lends a big boost to the company. Firdapse was launched in January 2019. Investors’ focus will be on the revenues generated by this product during the quarter under review along with its launch results.

The company is also working on developing Firdapse for additional indications. It is evaluating Firdapse for the treatment of MuSK-antibody positive MG and also certain types of congenital myasthenic syndromes (“CMS”) in the pediatric population (2-17 years) apart from addressing Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) type III. We expect updates from these studies in the upcoming quarterly release.

Last December, the company signed a definitive agreement with Endo International plc's (NASDAQ:ENDP) subsidiary, Endo Ventures Limited, for further development and commercialization of generic Sabril tablets through Endo’s U.S. Generic Pharmaceuticals segment, doing business as Par Pharmaceutical. Pursuant to this deal, Catalyst Pharma will receive an up-front payment and milestone fees based on the achievement of regulatory approvals and a fair share of defined net profits upon commercialization. We expect latest news on this in the impending quarterly report.

What the Model Indicates

The proven Zacks model does not conclusively show that Catalyst Pharma is likely to beat on earnings in the to-be-reported quarter. This is because a stock needs to have a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. But that is not the case here as you will see below.

Earnings ESP: Catalyst Pharma has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Catalyst Pharma carries a Zacks Rank #3, which increases the predictive power of ESP. However, a 0.00% ESP in the combination makes surprise prediction difficult for the stock this earnings season.

Notably, Sell-rated stocks (#4 or 5) going into an earnings announcement are best avoided.

Stocks That Warrant a Look

Here are some stocks worth considering as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this reporting cycle.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE) has an Earnings ESP of +6.36% and a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Amicus Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:FOLD) has an Earnings ESP of +24.59% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The company is scheduled to release first-quarter 2019 results on May 8.

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