Medicis Pharmaceutical Misses Where it Counts

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Medicis Pharmaceutical (NYS: MRX) reported earnings on Feb. 27. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
Medicis Pharmaceutical notched revenue of $184.7 million. The 14 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $186.6 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 0.8% lower than the prior-year quarter's $182.1 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
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.56. The 15 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.61 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $1.42 for Q3 were 284% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.37 per share.

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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 90.5%, 130 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 31.7%, 620 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 32.6%, 1,950 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $178.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.53.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $719.3 million. The average EPS estimate is $2.32.

Investor sentiment
Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Medicis Pharmaceutical is outperform, with an average price target of $38.00.

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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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