Roche Holding is scheduled to report sales figures for the third quarter on Thursday. Here is what you need to know.
SALES FORECAST: Analysts expect the Swiss pharmaceutical group to report third-quarter sales of 15.77 billion Swiss francs ($19.12 billion), according to consensus estimates provided by Visible Alpha. For the same period last year, the company reported sales of 15.14 billion francs.
Shares in Roche gained 6.4% during the third quarter. Since the start of the year through Tuesday's close, the stock rose 18%.
WHAT TO WATCH
--NEW DRUGS: Roche shares are approaching all-time highs and the key debate among investors remains the upcoming launch--pending regulatory approval--of new breast-cancer drug giredestrant, analysts at RBC wrote in a note to clients. The Food and Drug Administration is due to decide on the drug's approval in early and advanced breast cancer in November and December. Executives at Roche flagged at a recent event with investors last month that free sampling could hamper giredestrant sales in the first year, and data on rival products due next year could mute investor enthusiasm around the launch, the RBC analysts said. That said, Roche might have limited incremental news to share on giredestrant at this stage, UBS analysts said.
--OUTLOOK: The company has guided for sales to grow in the mid-single-digit percentage range at constant exchange rates this year, and core earnings per share to rise in the high single-digit range. Roche has limited scope to increase its guidance, given that sales of key drugs such as Vabysmo for eye diseases and Xolair for food allergies could fall short of what the company expects, analysts at Jefferies said.
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