Horizon Therapeutics Plunges Following Earnings, Revenue Miss - 'Concerns Realized'

© Reuters. Horizon Therapeutics Plunges Following Earnings, Revenue Miss - 'Concerns Realized'

By Sam Boughedda

Horizon Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HZNP) plunged over 18% Wednesday after the company reported earnings, missing analyst profit and revenue estimates.

The biopharmaceutical company posted EPS of $1.07, $0.26 below analyst forecasts of $1.33, while revenue for the quarter came in at $876.4 million versus the consensus estimate of $936.11 million.

Despite the miss, the company's CEO was positive. "Double-digit net sales growth in our orphan segment drove our second-quarter performance, with very strong growth of KRYSTEXXA and an increasing contribution from UPLIZNA," said Tim Walbert, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Horizon.

Horizon Therapeutics now expects FY2022 revenue to be between $3.53 billion and $3.6 billion, versus the consensus of $3.96 billion.

"We are revising our full-year guidance to reflect our expectation for TEPEZZA full-year net sales percentage growth in the high-teens and reflect recent generic competition in our inflammation segment," added Walbert.

A Stifel analyst maintained a Buy rating but lowered the firm's price target on the stock to $138 from $140 per share.

The analyst told investors in a research note that concerns in the second quarter were "realized on a revenues miss of $876.4mn/Cons. $938.8mn, Adj. EBITDA of $306.6mn/Cons. $379.3mn, caused by Tepezza disappointments unable to be offset by Krystexxa/Uplizna."

"Specifically, Tepezza/TED suffered from a lack of pull-through support for treating physicians and slower referrals from ophthalmologist/endocrinologists. HZNP uncharacteristically lowered 2022 guidance to Revenues $3.53-3.60bn (from $3.9-4.0bn/ Cons. $3.96bn), Adj.EBITDA $1.30-1.35 (from $1.63-1.70bn/Cons $1.65bn), acknowledging the need to adapt infrastructure," added the analyst. "While HZNP shares reflect Tepezza's miss and will need to navigate the challenge, we believe HZNP remains one of the best positioned for growth and longevity in BioPharma—we see HZNP shares on sales and maintain our Buy."