What happened
Halozyme Therapeutics (HALO 0.58%) was well in double-digit territory on Wednesday, as its stock was up by over 14% in mid-afternoon trading. That action followed the company's release of its latest set of quarterly results after market close the preceding day.
So what
For its fourth quarter of 2020, Halozyme earned $121.7 million in revenue, more than double the $53.7 million of the year-ago quarter. On the bottom line, the biotech flipped to a profit of $73.2 million ($0.50 per share), compared to a Q4 2019 loss of $34.4 million.
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On average, analysts tracking the stock were estimating $120.2 million on the top line, and per-share net profit of $0.53.
Halozyme firmly believes more growth is in store. Fueled by royalty payments that are expected to roughly double, revenue should come in at $375 million to $395 million for 2021 -- meaning at least a 40% improvement over the 2020 tally. Per-share earnings will also improve significantly, with a projected increase of at least 54% to between $1.40 and $1.55.
Finally, the company said it will repurchase up to $125 million worth of its common stock this year.
Now what
In late 2019, Halozyme decided to pivot its business more toward royalty generation from its Enhanze platform than proprietary drug development. It's clearly a strategy that is working and is resonating with investors, who also surely welcome news of the share buybacks.
