For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – November 11, 2019 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Novo Nordisk NVO, Allergan AGN, Sanofi SNY, Novartis NVS and J&J JNJ.
Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:
Pharma Stock Roundup: AGN, NVO, SNY and More
It was a relatively quieter week for the pharma sector, barring the earnings reports of Novo Nordisk and Allergan. The FDA approved Sanofi’s Fluzone Quadrivalent flu vaccine for adults 65 years and above and Novartis’ long-acting biosimilar version of Amgen’s febrile neutropenia medicine, Neulasta.
Recap of the Week’s Most Important Stories:
Earnings Update: Allergan reported decent third-quarter results, meeting estimates for earnings while beating the same for sales. Revenues rose 3.6% from the year-ago quarter as higher sales of key products like Botox (cosmetic and therapeutics), Juvéderm collection of fillers, Vraylar, Ozurdex, and Lo Loestrin made up for the loss of exclusivity on some brands and divestitures of some others. It slightly raised its sales guidance for 2019 while maintaining the previously issued earnings view.
Novo Nordisk missed estimates for sales while beating the same for earnings in the third quarter. Sales in the Diabetes and Obesity Care segment increased 5% at constant exchange rate (CER) while that in the Biopharmaceuticals segment increased 6%. Novo Nordisk raised its sales growth expectations from a range of 4-6% at CER to a range of 5-6% at CER.
FDA Approves Sanofi’s Quadrivalent Flu Vaccine for Older Adults: The FDA granted approval to Sanofi’s influenza vaccine, Fluzone High Dose Quadrivalent for use in adults 65 years and above. Fluzone High-Dose is presently marketed as a trivalent influenza vaccine, including two influenza A strains and one influenza B strain. The FDA approval of the Fluzone High Dose Quadrivalent vaccine expands protection for an additional influenza B strain. The new quadrivalent vaccine is expected to be available in fall 2020, in time for the 2020-2021 flu season.
Sanofi also presented data from a phase III study (EDITION JUNIOR) evaluating Toujeo (insulin glargine 300 Units/mL) in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes. The data showed that the group of patients administered Toujeo achieved comparable reduction in average blood sugar (HbA1c) and similar risk of low blood sugar events compared to insulin glargine 100 Units/mL. Meanwhile, the percentage of patients who experienced severe hypoglycemia, and the percentage with hyperglycemia with ketosis were numerically lower with Toujeo.
Sanofi also said that the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use gave a positive opinion, recommending expansion of Toujeo’s indication in Europe to allow use in adolescents and children based on EDITION JUNIOR study data.
Sandoz Gets FDA Nod for Long-Acting Neulasta Biosimilar:Novartis’ generic subsidiary Sandoz gained FDA approval for Ziextenzo, its long-acting biosimilar version of Amgen’s febrile neutropenia medicine, Neulasta (filgrastim). Sandoz already markets Ziextenzo in Europe as well as a short-acting filgrastim biosimilar, Zarxio, in the United States.
With the approval of Ziextenzo, Sandoz becomes the only company, which offers long- as well as short-acting filgrastim biosimilar treatment options. Sandoz will launch Ziextenzo in the United States this year.
J&J Files for Ebola Vaccine in EU:J&J submitted a marketing application to the EMA seeking approval for its two-dose investigational Ebola vaccine regimen. J&J has developed the vaccine for the prevention of Ebola Virus caused by Zaire strain.
Novo Nordisk Buys Rights to NASH Candidate:Novo Nordisk obtained an exclusive worldwide license to a potential NASH candidate, UD-014, from Japan’s UBE Industries Ltd for an undisclosed upfront payment. Novo Nordisk will take care of future development/commercialization of UD-014, which is now in pre-clinical studies.
The NYSE ARCA Pharmaceutical Index declined 1.4% in the last five trading sessions.
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO): Free Stock Analysis Report
Novartis AG (NVS): Free Stock Analysis Report
Sanofi (SNY): Free Stock Analysis Report
Allergan plc (AGN): Free Stock Analysis Report
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
