Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., Sanofi-Aventis, AstraZeneca, Interactive Data Corp. and Thompson Reuters - Press Releases

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – May 5, 2010 – Zacks.com Analyst Blog features: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN), Sanofi-Aventis (SNY), AstraZeneca (AZN), Interactive Data Corp. (IDC) and Thompson Reuters (TRI).

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Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

Regeneron Loss Narrower

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s (REGN) first-quarter loss of $30.5 million, or 38 cents per share, was narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 49 cents. The company suffered a loss of $15.4 million, or 19 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. This was due to higher research and development expenses although revenues climbed higher.

Total revenue in the reported quarter climbed 38% year over year to $103.5 million. Total revenue included collaboration revenue, technology licensing revenue, net product sales, and contract research and other revenue. The increase in total revenue was mainly attributable to higher collaboration revenues in the quarter.

Collaboration revenues climbed approximately 37% year over year to $81.8 million in the first quarter of 2010. Out of that, $68.7 million came from Regeneron’s aflibercept and antibody collaborations with Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) and $13.1 million from its VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) Trap-Eye collaboration with Bayer HealthCare.

Revenues from technology licensing, arising out of the license agreements with AstraZeneca (AZN) and Astellas, came in flat year over year at $10 million. Arcalyst, approved for treating Cryopyrin-Associated Periodic Syndromes (CAPS), generated revenue of $9.9 million in the first quarter of 2010, up 153.2% year-over-year. Regeneron reported $5.1 million in Arcalyst sales during the reported quarter. The balance came through deferred revenue. Revenues from contract research and others accounted for the remaining in the reported quarter.

Total operating expenses in the quarter climbed 44% year over year to $132.2 million. Research and development (R&D) expenditure for the quarter jumped 46% year over year to $117.5 million primarily because of the additional R&D headcount, clinical and pre-clinical development costs for the company’s pipeline candidates.

Selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses increased to $14 million in the reported quarter from $11.4 million in the year-ago quarter. The rise was attributable to higher compensation expense, higher recruitment costs and facility-related costs.

Regeneron exited the quarter with cash, restricted cash, and marketable securities of $413.5 million compared with $390 million at the end of 2009. Furthermore, the company received $47.5 million from its landlord in the reported quarter. The payment from the landlord was related to tenant improvement costs for new laboratory and office facilities that Regeneron leases in Tarrytown, New York.

IDC Headed for Private Equity

Interactive Data Corp. (IDC), a global provider of financial and business information, has caught the eyes of private equity firms Warburg Pincus and Silver Lake Partners, who have more or less agreed to take over the financial information company for an estimated value of more than $3 billion.

The Financial Times has reported that this is going to be one of the largest Private Equity deals since the beginning of the credit crisis three years back. Other big private equity players also participated in the bidding process, but exited early, as the bid price shot up to levels that would make it difficult for them to fetch a desired return on investment.

IDC’s largest division, Pricing and Reference Data, serves more than 4,000 institutional customers. Revenue from the segment grew by 5% in fiscal 2009 from the 2008 levels, in a challenging market environment, given the desire to cut costs by asset managers. The company’s pricing and independent division evaluates over 2.8 million fixed income securities, while its reference data evaluates over 6 million securities globally.

IDC maintains very strong renewal rates, typically around the 95% range. The company has further strengthened this business with its recently acquired 80% majority interest in NTT DATA Financial Corporation (NDF), a leading provider of securities pricing, reference data and related services to most of the major financial institutions in Japan.

The private equity firms have been sitting on cash for quite some time, as in the past three years the credit environment was not conducive for investment. While these private equity firms have got an opportunity to invest in a business which is expected to pick up in the near future, the flipside is that it may prove to be a difficult business decision as Interactive Data faces tough competition from companies such as Bloomberg L.P., Dow Jones & Company Inc. and Thompson Reuters (TRI), which have significantly greater financial, technical and marketing resources compared to IDC.

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