Upcoming AWS Coverage on Zogenix

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / January 26, 2017 / Active Wall St. blog coverage looks at the headline from Swiss pharma major Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS) as the Company announced its results for the fourth quarter and the financial year on January 25, 2017. While discussing the guidance for 2017, the Company disclosed its plan to buy back approximately $5 billion of its shares in 2017. The Company also disclosed its plans to consider various viable options for its Alcon Division to maximize shareholder value. Register with us now for your free membership and blog access at:

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One of Novartis' competitors within the Drug Manufacturers - Major space, Zogenix, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZGNX), is estimated to report earnings on March 09, 2017. AWS will be initiating a research report on Zogenix following the release of its next earnings results.

Today, AWS is promoting its blog coverage on NVS; touching on ZGNX. Get all of our free blog coverage and more by clicking on the links below:

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Sharing his thoughts on the matter, Joe Jimenez, CEO of Novartis said:

"Novartis delivered a solid performance in 2016, absorbing Gleevec US loss of exclusivity while investing in key launches and the Alcon Division turnaround. Cosentyx reached blockbuster status in 2016, and the conditions are now in place for Entresto sales to accelerate in 2017. We made major strides in advancing our pipeline, executing our bolt-on M&A strategy and implementing our new focused organization."

Financial performance in 2016

For the full year 2016, Novartis reported the net annual sales of $48.5 billion with net annual income of $6.5 billion.

The most popular products which contributed to the overall annual sales of Novartis include Gilenya ($3.1 billion), Cosentyx ($1.1 billion), and Entresto ($170 million). The Oncology division recorded a growth of 12% and its subsidiary Sandoz Biopharmaceuticals grew 31%.

Going forward in 2017, the Company shared its plans to buyback approximately $5 billion shares in a bid to increase shareholder confidence and improve growth prospects. The shareholders had already granted the share buyback authority in February 2016 at its Annual General Meeting (AGM). Novartis plans to use funds from fresh debt for this initiative. The Company plans to take advantage of the current markets condition of low interest rates.

Novartis also declared a dividend payment of Swiss Francs 2.75 per share for 2016.

Novartis in the coming year, i.e. 2017, expects to have a sales trend similar to 2016. Novartis also expects core operating income for 2017 to be similar to 2016 numbers or low to a single digit. Novartis is making tremendous efforts to push the numbers with an expanded sales force, a more favorable coverage from health insurers, and endorsement of major cardiology groups in the US and Europe.

The Alcon Division

Novartis had acquired Alcon from Nestle for $52 billion and completed the acquisition in 2010. The eye-care business is divided into the Vision Care which is into Contact Lens and Surgical which is into devices for surgical replacement of lens. Despite numerous efforts by Novartis to improve the performance of Alcon, the division has been struggling to stay in the black. Alcon's continued underperformance has been impacting the overall performance of the Company. For Q4 2016, the net sales were $1.4 billion which was down 2% and the division reported an operating loss of $120 million. The Vision Care unit reported a 5% growth in sales whereas the surgical unit reported a decline of 4% in sales.

Novartis still feels that the Alcon Division has great potential due to is strong consumer base and management team. Hence, Novartis is carefully considering all options including listing it as a separate Company; selling off the business; or continue to keep the business as a division. The option which offers maximum value to the shareholders will be chosen. The final decision on the matter will be disclosed by Novartis by end of 2017.

Stock Performance

At the close of trading session on January 25, 2017, Novartis' stock price climbed 3.04% to end the day at $72.16. A total volume of 6.47 million shares were exchanged during the session, which was above the 3-month average volume of 3.47 million shares. The stock currently has a market cap of $189.45 billion and has a PE ratio of 25.47.

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SOURCE: Active Wall Street