Submitted by Mark Hanna
Courtesy of MarketMontage. View original post here.
Some winning action in after hours as well, albeit relatively modest with a 2% gain, can be found in Questcor Pharmaceuticals (QCOR) corner. Â The company just reported a $96M quarter with $.61 EPS (non GAAP), compared to expectations of $90.3M and $0.52. Â Showing how difficult of a quarter that is, normally a 9 cent beat like that would offer a stock far more than this less than sizzling pop after hours. Â Sales growth for QCOR’s primary drug, Acthar, continue off the charts, versus the $36.8M a year ago.
An interesting note in their PR:
- During the first quarter of 2012, Questcor shipped 4,111 vials of Acthar, compared to 2,010 vials in the year ago quarter.  The Company’s quarterly vial shipments continue to be subject to significant variation due to the size and timing of individual orders received from Questcor’s distributor. The timing of when these orders are received and filled can significantly affect net sales and net income in any particular quarter. For example, on the last day of the first quarter of 2012, Questcor filled an order for 180 vials. This shipment favorably impacted net sales by approximately $4 million and earnings per share by approximately four cents for the period.
They would have beat either way, but the size of the beat would have been less impressive.
EDIT 4:32 PMÂ – as I typed this the conference call started, and the stock promptly dropped 7%. Â Sheesh.
Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company whose primary product helps patients with serious, difficult-to-treat medical conditions.  Questcor’s primary product is H.P. Acthar® Gel (repository corticotropin injection), an injectable drug that is approved by the FDA for the treatment of 19 indications.  Of these 19 indications, Questcor currently generates substantially all of its net sales from three indications: the treatment of proteinuria in idiopathic types of nephrotic syndrome, the treatment of acute exacerbations of multiple sclerosis in adults, and the treatment of infantile spasms in children under two years of age.
Disclosure Notice
Any securities mentioned on this page are not held by the author in his personal portfolio. Securities mentioned may or may not be held by the author in the mutual fund he manages, the Paladin Long Short Fund (PALFX). For a list of the aforementioned fund’s holdings at the end of the prior quarter, visit the Paladin Funds website at http://www.paladinfunds.com/holdings/blog
