Piper ‘at a loss’ to explain Regeneron Q4 miss for Eylea

Piper Sandler analyst Christopher Raymond finds himself "at a loss" to explain today’s below-consensus U.S. Eylea Q4 revenue from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. With revenue of $1.5B, the drug missed the consensus estimate of $1.648B meaningfully, Raymond tells investors in a research note. Management contends the quarter was negatively impacted by a short term shift to off-label Avastin and the temporary closing of a fund that provides patient co-pay assistance, and that recent data suggests this shift is already reversing, the analyst says. However, he finds this dynamic "perplexing to say the least" as his most recent survey work "detected nothing out of the ordinary with respect to Avastin use and even noted Eylea share." The news is likely to add fuel to the bearish thesis around Vabysmo pressure, but it is "prudent to assign the benefit of the doubt until this dynamic is better understood," says Raymond. He keeps an Overweight rating on Regeneron with a $765 price target.