Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Increases Sales but Misses Estimates on Earnings

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Auxilium Pharmaceuticals (NAS: AUXL) reported earnings on Feb. 23. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Auxilium Pharmaceuticals met expectations on revenue and missed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded significantly and GAAP loss per share dropped.

Margins improved across the board.

Revenue details
Auxilium Pharmaceuticals tallied revenue of $73.3 million. The 14 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $73.5 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 19% higher than the prior-year quarter's $61.8 million.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at -$0.25. The 14 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged -$0.16 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.25 for Q4 versus -$0.34 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 77.5%, 530 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -16.4%, 1,000 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -16.2%, 1,030 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $72.0 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.13.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $301.7 million. The average EPS estimate is -$0.45.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 125 members out of 178 rating the stock outperform, and 53 members rating it underperform. Among 56 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 29 give Auxilium Pharmaceuticals a green thumbs-up, and 27 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Auxilium Pharmaceuticals is outperform, with an average price target of $21.73.

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At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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