Shares of Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ISIS) gained around 4.9% after the company updates its 2014 outlook. The company expects 2014 pro forma net operating loss in the mid-to-high teens range.
On its third quarter conference call, the company had mentioned that it expects to improve upon its initial guidance of net operating loss in the low $50 million range. However, it did not provide a specific guidance regarding the same at that time. The new guidance represents almost a 70% improvement from the company’s initial forecast of a low $50 million range.
Isis Pharma’s 2014 adjusted loss, as per the Zacks Consensus Estimate, currently stands at 53 cents per share.
Thanks to its partnership programs, the company now expects to end 2014 with cash of more than $725 million, exceeding its initial cash guidance by over $150 million. Isis Pharma has partnership agreements with leading health care companies like Biogen Idec (BIIB) and AstraZeneca (AZN).
The company recently inked an agreement with health care giant, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) for the discovery and development of antisense drugs for treating autoimmune disorders of the gastrointestinal tract (read more: Isis Pharmaceuticals Up on Collaboration with J&J).
Our Take
Isis Pharma’s 2014 outlook looks promising. We are encouraged by the company’s association with several big companies as well as its broad pipeline. The company currently has 33 candidates in its pipeline including 7 phase III and 15 phase II candidates. We expect investor focus to remain on the company’s pipeline going forward.
Isis Pharma currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in the health care sector is Biogen carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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