On Oct 10, Zacks Investment Research upgraded PRA Health Sciences Inc. PRAH to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Why the Upgrade?
PRA Health reported strong second-quarter results and raised the full-year 2015 guidance. Furthermore, the company beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by an average of 16% over the last four quarters. The impressive second-quarter performance along with the announcement of new employment programs and the recent collaboration with Alliance for Multispecialty Research (AMR), have led to the rank upgrade.
Notably, the share price of PRA Health gained almost 60% year-to-date as against -2.1% for the S&P 500.
PRA Health reported an adjusted EPS of $0.47, representing a year-over-year increase of 37%. Meanwhile, the company raised the guidance for the full year with adjusted EPS being expected between $1.75 and $1.85, up from the previous range of $1.62 and $1.72.
PRA Health also announced the launch of a new platform, Predictivv, during the last quarter that will play an important role in the future of clinical trial management. PRA Health plans the launch of several applications using the platform focusing on areas such as site selection, patient recruitment and investigator engagement.
The company recently invested $4 million toward workforce expansion. The initiative reflects the company’s growth potential and also solidifies its position in Pennsylvania. The company had undertaken an employment program in the last quarter as well.
Meanwhile, PRA Health’s recent collaboration with Alliance for Multispecialty Research is aimed at developing faster and more efficient vaccines. The company conducted vaccine studies at more than 3000 sites that involved close to 213000 individuals. The partnership will provide a boost to the company owing to the rising opportunities in the adult vaccine market, which is likely to double by 2020.
Estimate Revisions
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2015 remained steady at $1.64 over the last 7 days. However, fiscal 2016 estimates were revised up by 8 cents (4.2%) to $2 over the same time frame.
Other Stocks to Consider
One may also consider other favorably ranked players in the industry like BioTelemetry BEAT, MedAssets MDAS and ICU Medical ICUI. All the three stocks carry the same Zacks Rank as PRA Health.
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