JPMorgan Believes Its Positive Long-Term Thesis On Alexion Remains Intact

Shares of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ALXN tumbled in Wednesday’s after-hours, after the company said it would miss the deadline for its latest 10-Q. As per an SEC filing, the 10-Q will be delayed because the Audit and Finance Committee of the company’s board of directors is leading an “investigation into allegations that recently have been made by a former employee with respect to the Company’s Soliris sales practices.”

Recent Performance

The stock recuperated before the market opened on Thursday and is now relatively flat in relation to Wednesday’s closing price. Likely helping the stock was a report JPMorgan published during the night, where it reiterated an Overweight rating on shares of Alexion, arguing that their long-term thesis remains intact.

Analysts' Perspective

The firm’s experts had the chance to speak with the company and concluded that the delay in the filing does not impact on the company’s current commercial supply, or on its ability to serve its patients, or on its clinical development plans with Soliris. In addition, analysts Anupam Rama, Eric W. Joseph and Yuko Oku noted, as far as they know, the company will not need to update its financial results.

A Look Ahead

Looking forward, they believe that the update on the 10-Q filing and the fact that M&A speculation did not materialize “may cause near-term volatility in Alexion shares. Having said this, they continued, their long-term Overweight thesis remains intact. Indeed, they think “the Street is underestimating key Alexion defense points for their complement franchise, in particular ALXN1210as an important basis for a long-term durability of the business.”

At last check, Alexion was up 0.42 percent at $127.70.