Jefferies Says Watson Pharmaceuticals 2012 Guidance Light but Should be Beatable
According to a recent research report published by Jefferies, Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: WPI) offered first time 2012 EPS guidance of $5.25-$5.55, which is below consensus of $5.76.
“However, its revenue guidance of $5.3B is right in line with consensus of $5.29B, but below our estimate of $5.435. Relative to our model, the guidance for generics of $3.8-$4.0 is slightly below our $4.1B, as is guidance for the brand division ($500-$525M vs our $535M). While we await further details at the analyst day this morning, our guess is that Watson is being conservative and setting up for numbers that it can beat,” Jefferies said in the report.
Jefferies maintains its Hold rating and $70.00 PT on Watson Pharmaceuticals, which closed yesterday at $57.21.
