Biotech Preview: Genzyme, Biogen, Amgen, Celgene

Despite regulatory hold-ups, reimbursement and labeling issues, some troubled drug sales and a company sale that never happened in 2007, a few big biotech stocks maintain bullish outlooks for fourth-quarter and year-end results, as well as the year ahead.

Genzyme (GENZ - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), Biogen Idec (BIIB - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), Amgen (AMGN - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and Celgene (CELG - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) each preannounced fourth-quarter and annual results in conjunction with last week's JPMorgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco. They guided ahead optimistically. Meanwhile, Genentech (DNA - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) will share its numbers post-close today and Gilead (GILD - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) will announce later in January.

Here's a look at what investors saw and expect to see from these companies.

Genentech -- Jan. 14

Genentech kicks off its earnings Monday after market close. Wall Street is looking for adjusted earnings of $720 million, or 68 cents a share, on revenue of $2.9 billion for the fourth quarter. For the year, analysts are seeking $3.1 billion, or $2.92 a share, on revenue of $11.7 billion.
The consensus for fourth-quarter sales includes $603 million from Rituxan, $332 million for Herceptin, $616 million for Avastin, $111 million from Tarceva and $169 million from Lucentis. For the year, analysts are looking for revenue of $11.7 billion, including $2.29 billion from Rituxan, $1.29 billion from Herceptin sales, $2.3 billion from Avastin, $416 million from Tarceva and $817 million from Lucentis.

Genentech in December suffered a negative recommendation from a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel for its Avastin as a treatment for metastatic breast cancer. But the South San Francisco-based company is set to report late-stage data from the Avado trial in the first half of this year and from the Ribbon-1 trial in the second half of the year, which could potentially improve Avastin growth in metastatic breast cancer treatment for 2008, according to Rodman & Renshaw analyst Michael King Jr.

Genentech shares could be influenced by interim, two-year data (three-year disease-free survival data are due in 2009) for Avastin in colorectal cancer sometime during the second half of 2008, according to King. However, he expects the stock will be range-bound until the company releases data from the colorectal cancer and ovarian cancer trials in 2009, in addition to the breast cancer indication.

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