Earnings Preview: Biogen Idec

Biogen Idec (BIIB) is expected to report Q3 earnings Tuesday Oct. 21 before market open, with a conference call scheduled for 8:30 am ET.

Guidance

Analysts are looking for a profit of 89c on revenue of $1.01B. The consensus is 80c to 95c for EPS, and revenue of $968M to $1.05B, according to First Call.

Analyst Views

In Q2 the company reported EPS 91c vs. consensus of 85c and revenue $993M vs. consensus of $963M. Positive drivers for this quarter could be Avonex sales and pipeline progress. Negative drivers for this quarter could be the recent Tysabri safety concerns.

On September 30, JP Morgan's physician survey results were favorable for Tysabri indicating only a modest slowdown in new patient adds, a better than expected Q3, and acceleration in 2009. The firm remains bullish on the stock with an Overweight rating.