Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALXN) was upgraded by Zacks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report released on Friday, AnalystRatingsNetwork reports. The firm currently has a $189.00 price target on the stock. Zacks‘ target price would indicate a potential upside of 20.08% from the stock’s previous close.
Zacks‘ analyst wrote, “We are upgrading Alexion Pharmaceuticals to Outperform following its strong fourth quarter 2013 results and rosy guidance for 2014. The company’s fourth quarter adjusted earnings of $0.78 per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5 cents and the year-ago figure by 44%. Results were driven by strong Soliris sales for the PNH and aHUS indications. The company expects revenues in the range of $2.0-$2.02 billion, well over 2013 levels. Growth at Alexion is expected to be driven by strong Soliris sales. Moreover, the company will be benefiting from lower tax rates. We are also impressed by Alexion’s efforts to develop its pipeline. We believe that the company’s bright prospects will lead to significant stock price appreciation.”
Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALXN) traded up 3.90% on Friday, hitting $163.54. 1,454,876 shares of the company’s stock traded hands. Alexion Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $81.82 and a 1-year high of $169.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $138.3 and a 200-day moving average of $120.6. The company has a market cap of $32.124 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 123.94.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALXN) last released its earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $441.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $430.08 million. Analysts expect that Alexion Pharmaceuticals will post $3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.
In other Alexion Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Vikas Sinha unloaded 3,552 shares of Alexion Pharmaceuticals stock on the open market in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.47, for a total transaction of $548,677.44. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,046,344. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.
A number of other firms have also recently commented on ALXN. Analysts at UBS AG raised their price target on shares of Alexion Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $185.00 in a research note to investors on Friday, January 31st. Separately, analysts at Jefferies Group raised their price target on shares of Alexion Pharmaceuticals from $106.00 to $145.00 in a research note to investors on Friday, January 31st. They now have a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, analysts at Leerink Swann raised their price target on shares of Alexion Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $200.00 in a research note to investors on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.72.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NASDAQ:ALXN) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on serving patients with severe and ultra-rare disorders through the development and commercialization of life-transforming therapeutic products.
To view Zacks’ full report, visit www.zacks.com
This article (Alexion Pharmaceuticals Upgraded to Outperform at Zacks (ALXN)) was originally developed by and is property of American Banking News.
Stay on top of analysts' coverage with Analyst Ratings Network's FREE daily email newsletter that provides a concise list of analysts' upgrades and downgrades. Click here to register now.