ALXN Investment Analysis Report & Stock Research, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Incorporated (ALXN)

ALXN Stock Report

2-Year Price History

View Larger ALXN Chart
NASDAQ:ALXN
$54.26
(3/19 4:00PM)
+1.9%
Open$53.08 Mkt Cap$4.7 Billion
High$54.45 52Wk High$54.15
Low$53.01 52Wk Low$32.26
Volume838,202 Avg Vol 10D496,500

Ockham's Rating/Recommendation Summary

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ALXN Revenue

For a long time, value investors have used the current share price relative to sales per share levels as an important valuation tool. We utilize a historical weighted average methodology that treats recent years more importantly in the calculation. When looking at ALXN through this framework, we can see that our weighted average historical high and low Price to Sales per share ratios over the last 10 years are 357.42x and 174.22x respectively.

Utilizing this range we can see that ALXN’s current Price to Sales per share ratio of 12.18x is significantly below its average levels historically. In fact, with a current price of $52.84, ALXN is a full 96% below its average Price to Sales ratio at comparable sales levels. This is a rare occurrence and, when taken in context of the other areas of our analysis, can be a strong positive for our outlook for ALXN.

ALXN Cash Earnings

When there is not enough positive Cash Earnings history available for a company, we at Ockham Research can find it quite difficult to actually rate their ability to generate cash. Such is the case with ALXN. When a company has current positive cash earnings but not enough years of history to compare it to, we find the correlation of cash earnings to valuation significantly hindered. So with ALXN, we will have to wait to see if there are a few more cycles of positive Cash Earnings numbers before we will be confident in our Cash Earnings analysis.

ALXN Dividends

While it is not necessary to pay an attractive dividend or a dividend at all, to receive a positive rating from Ockham, we view dividends as an additionally helpful measure in determining the future potential of any company. While we do like to see companies with healthy and growing dividends, it is not appropriate for all companies, especially those focused on growth. In this regard, we regard ALXN as neutral because we do not have historical data for this company's dividends. We will being incorporating this into our analysis as soon as that data is available.

Peer Comparison

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Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Industry Grouping

(3/18/2010)
Company Ticker Market Cap (Ml) Latest
Price
Price/Cash Earnings Price/Sales 5-Yr. Rev.
Growth Rate
5-Yr.
Avg. ROE.
Current 10-Yr. Range* Current 10-Yr. Range*
Peer Company Averages (not including ALXN) 20.15 8.99 » 51.49 3.79 1.45 » 65.62 26.66% 8.05%
*10 year range does not include current year values
Qiagen NV QGEN $5.4 Billion $23.14 22.65 11.04 » 105.32 5.18 2.04 » 19.46 20.51% 9.64%
Cephalon, Inc. CEPH $5.3 Billion $71.02 8.94 6.69 » 22.36 2.40 1.79 » 19.08 16.64% 8.11%
Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. WPI $5.0 Billion $40.78 12.42 5.18 » 32.52 1.83 0.84 » 6.09 11.23% 6.51%
Illumina Inc. ILMN $4.8 Billion $39.65 39.33 14.06 » 72.55 7.31 2.00 » 281.25 67.47% 5.91%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ALXN $4.7 Billion $53.25 15.32 8.86 » 95.94 12.18 7.04 » 1143.50 142.54% 13.58%
Perrigo Company PRGO $4.6 Billion $50.19 17.42 7.97 » 24.70 2.22 0.58 » 2.20 17.44% 10.08%
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Inside Track With Deidre Bolton and Erik Schatzker

News Breaking on Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Incorporated on Inside Track With Deidre Bolton and Erik Schatzker

The latest news from Inside Track With Deidre Bolton and Erik Schatzker on ALXN is available through Ockham's news analytics platform RazorWire.

As we analyze the results from RazorWire, one thing we do is rank each stock in terms of amount of news coverage. Recently, ALXN has been less covered in the news compared to the rest of our universe of stocks. The crowd at The Motley Fool does not like ALXN and believes that it will Underperform. We consider ALXN as Undervalued at the current price of $52.85. According to our methodology, this stock has appreciation potential based on current fundamentals which only improves if earnings or revenue surprise.

“… Two names to watch, ALEXION PHARMACEUTICALS. Growth is underestimated and likely upside to 2010 earnings. Another name, pharmaceuticals. …”

Imus In The Morning

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Incorporated Was Talked About by Imus In The Morning

As always, the latest news on ALXN is available to Ockham clients through RazorWire, and it was mentioned recently on Imus In The Morning.

Based on our methodology, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Incorporated should hold some appeal to value investors as we view it as Undervalued. We noticed recently that in comparison to all other stocks we analyze in the news; ALXN has received less coverage from the financial media in business television and blogs. While bearish sentiment on a stock is not always a bad thing, it is something you need to be aware of. The Motley Fool survey of crowd sentiment shows that many investors believe this stock will underperform.

“… Two names to watch, ALEXION PHARMACEUTICALS. Growth is underestimated and likely upside to 2010 earnings. Another name, pharmaceuticals. …”

National Post Network Blogs

National Post Network Blogs Picks Up on ALXN News After Six Months

ALXN has not been a media darling in the last six months, but they have started to pay attention as you can see by the story on National Post Network Blogs.

At present, Ockham has a valuation stance of Undervalued on ALXN, as we could see significant price appreciation based on current fundamentals like cash earnings and revenue. When taking into account the amount of news coverage each stock normally sees as a percentage of the total, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Incorporated has actually sunk a bit in comparison to the others. Interestingly, overall sentiment looks bearish according to the Motley Fool's CAPS survey, as most of their users see Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Incorporated underperforming.

“… of the Biotech sector with a series of Overweight stock recommendations including Rigel Pharmaceutical, Adrea Biosciences, Human Genome, Gilead, ALEXION PHARMACEUTICALS and ... …”

Fast Money

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Incorporated (ALXN) Discussed on CNBC's Fast Money

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Incorporated is in the news. Find out how this impacts ALXN trading on Ockham Research.

Not only the clinical outlooks but also the outlook for the monies that are coming in. And if investors know that the government is putting up $10 billion, not of course just to ALEXION but to a host of stem cell stocks, i'd be in there. But then watch those clinical stocks, too, melissa, because I think there's a real play there as well. >> okay. Appreciate it.

“… ose clinical stocks, too, melissa, because I think there's a real play there as well. >> okay. Appreciate it. …”

Fast Money

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Incorporated (ALXN) Discussed on CNBC's Fast Money

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Incorporated is in the news. Find out how this impacts ALXN trading on Ockham Research.

Partners that might end up being owners if these clinical results so both those two stocks are stocks in the stem cell space I like, and I own them both. >> ALEXION you mentioned earnings this week. Do you get in ahead of the is there an opportunity here? >> I do think there is because just as you mentioned with 10 billion going to be spent in the sector I think these guys will

“… >> I do think there is because just as you mentioned with 10 billion going to be spent in the sector I think these guys will …”

Fast Money

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Incorporated (ALXN) Discussed on CNBC's Fast Money

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Incorporated is in the news. Find out how this impacts ALXN trading on Ockham Research.

The co-founder of optionmonster.Com jon najarian. Nice to see you. >> great to be here. Thank you. >> give smus trades. >> ALEXION pharmaceutical. I own a host of these stocks. ALEXION has earnings due thursday of this week, melissa. And they're everything from autoimmune disease, cancer treatments, hematologic as well as neurologic treatments of

“… g from autoimmune disease, cancer treatments, hematologic as well as neurologic treatments of …”

View All Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Stock News

Key Fundamentals

ALXN - Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Incorporated Fundamentals
Price (3/19 4:00PM) $54.26
Volume (3/19 4:00PM) 838,202
Last Close Price $53.25
10 Day Average Volume 496,500
13 Week Price Range $44.86 - $54.15
52 Week Price Range $32.26 - $54.15
LTM Revenue $386.8 Million
 
Shares Outstanding (12/2009) 89.1 Million
Market Capitalization $4.7 Billion
Shares Held By Institutions 94.7 Million
Institutional Holders 312
% Shares Held By Institutions %
Earnings Per Share (EPS) $3.26
P/E Ratio 16.30
Book Value Per Share $7.72
 
Gross Margin 91.60%
Annual Dividend 0.00
Dividend Yield 0.00%
Beta 0.61
Fiscal Year Ends December

About Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Incorporated is considered to operate in the Healthcare sector. They specifically operate in the Drug Manufacturers/Other business segment contained within the Drugs industry.

A biopharmaceutical company, which is engaged in the discovery, development and delivery of biologic therapeutic products aimed at treating patients with severe and life-threatening disease states.