Source: Akorn,
Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares in Akorn, Inc (AKRX +0.00%) spiked higher by more than 12% today after reporting fourth quarter and full year financial results.
So what: Analysts were expecting that the specialty generics ophthalmologic drugmaker would report sales of $218.8 million and EPS of $0.45 for the fourth quarter.
Instead, the company reported sales of $227.8 million, up 168% from a year ago and notched its fourth consecutive EPS beat by earning an adjusted $0.50 per share during the quarter, up 257% from 2013.
The fourth quarter performance led to full year sales of $601.9 million and adjusted EPS of $1.16.
The company's growth was driven by its acquisition of Hi-Tech Pharmacel and VersaPharm, as well as the approval of 14 unique products that will compete for a share of $850 million in annual product sales. Last year, Akorn launched 5 of those products, and this year, it plans to roll-out the rest.
As a result, Akorn expects revenue and earnings to grow significantly again in 2015. The company is guiding for sales of between $960 million and $980 million this year, up 47% from 2014, and for EPS of between $1.88 and $1.98 this year, up at least 62% from last year.
Now what: Akorn's generic product pipeline includes 87 ANDAs that are filed with the FDA and that could eventually compete for roughly $8.4 billion in annual market sales.
Source: Akorn,
The company also plans to file 9 more ANDAs that represent market sales of $684 million this year. Since the company's solid pipeline suggests that it could continue to deliver sustainable growth (its sales have grown by a compounded 65% per year since 2010), I think that this is a company that investors should keep a close eye on.
