Genzyme Beats Earnings Targets

Updated from 9:50 a.m. EDT

Genzyme (GENZ Quote - Cramer on GENZ - Stock Picks) posted first-quarter financial results Wednesday morning that beat Wall Street estimates on the top and bottom lines. Earlier in the week the biotech company reined in full-year guidance due to a regulatory delay.

Shares of the Cambridge, Mass.-based company were up $1.58, or 2.2%, at $73.13 in recent trading Wedneday.

Genzyme reported quarterly profit of $145 million, or 52 cents a share, in the first quarter, vs. $158.2 million, or 57 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. The recent quarter includes a charge of $56 million related to Genzyme's deal with Isis Pharmaceutical (ISIS Quote - Cramer on ISIS - Stock Picks).

On an adjusted basis, profit increased to $260 million, or 95 cents a share, from $210 million, or 78 cents a share, in the 2007 quarter. Revenue climbed 25% to $1.1 billion, from $883.2 million in the first quarter of 2007.

Wall Street analysts were looking for earnings of 93 cents a share on revenue of $1.085 billion.

First-quarter sales of Pompe disease drug Myozyme rose 78% to $67.3 million, just shy of Wall Street's target of $68 million. Earlier in the week Genzyme said that the FDA will require it to submit a separate application for the 2000L production of the drug, considering it a different product than the 160L scale, which is already approved.

The delayed production of the larger-scale version will affect 2008 sales of the drug. Genzyme now expects Myozyme sales of roughly $275 million to $285 million in 2008, down from its previous estimate of $320 million to $330 million.

Sales of injected Gaucher disease drug Cerezyme rose 15% to $304 million and sales of Fabry disease treatment Fabrazyme increased 16% to $117 million year over year, vs. the consensus targets of $301 million and $118 million, respectively.

Sales of chronic kidney disease treatments Renagel and Renvela rose 23% to $168.7 million, edging past Wall Street's expectation for $166 million.

Because of the delay in larger-scale Myozyme, the company is now predicting an adjusted profit of $3.90 a share for this year, compared with $4 a share previously expected, and GAAP earnings of $2.65 a share, also down 10 cents from its prior guidance.

"We had a very strong first quarter to start the year," said Genzyme CEO Henri Termeer in a release on Wednesday. "We continue to focus on our commitment to deliver 20 percent non-GAAP earnings growth through 2011, while building the company to ensure that we sustain our growth over the longer term."

Fellow biotech Biogen Idec(BIIB Quote - Cramer on BIIB - Stock Picks) also aired its earnings, beating by 4 cents a share on an adjusted basis. Sales of Biogen's MS drug Avonex and Biogen and Elan's(ELN Quote - Cramer on ELN - Stock Picks) MS and Crohn's disease drug Tysabri both beat analyst views. But shares were trading down $1.05, or 1.6%, to $63.57.

Meanwhile, biotech stocks Amgen(AMGN Quote - Cramer on AMGN - Stock Picks) and Imclone(IMCL Quote - Cramer on IMCL - Stock Picks), set to release earnings on Thursday, were up 1.5% and 1.2%, respectively.