(SCRX) - Sciele Pharma, Inc - Three analysts have raised their forecasts for this year, seven for next year

SCRX has met or exceeded earnings estimates in 12 out of the past 13 quarters. Year-over-year growth has consistently been above 30% over that time period. Three analysts have raised their forecasts for this year, while seven have done so for next year. Earnings estimates for 2007 have increased a solid 16 cents to $1.57 per share over the past 90 days. The stock is trading at a reasonable 15.4x 2007 earnings. Full Analysis Sciele Pharma, Inc. (SCRX), a specialty pharmaceutical company, engages in the development, marketing, and sale of prescription products for the treatment of cardiovascular, metabolic, obstetrical and gynecological, and pediatric and gastroenterological conditions and disorders. Sciele Pharma was previously known as First Horizon Pharmaceutical Corporation (FHRX). The company started trading as Sciele Pharma, Inc. (SCRX) on NASDAQ from June 19, 2006. Sciele s products include Sular, an antihypertensive prescription medication; Nitrolingual spray for acute relief or prevention of chest pain associated with angina pectoris that results from heart disease for curing acute angina; as well as Prenate Elite and Optinate prescription prenatal vitamin products. In April 2005, Sciele acquired Fortamet and Altoprev from Andrx Pharmaceuticals for $50 million in cash and $35 million in manufacturing milestones. Andrx will continue to manufacture Fortamet and Altoprev, and Sciele will pay 8% and 15% royalty on sales respectively. Fortamet, a once-daily extended-release tablet of generic metformin, offers fewer-side effects and easier dosing than traditional metformin or Glucophage tablets. Other niche products at Sciele offer strong growth opportunities. Prospects for Prenate Elite, the number-one prescribed pre- and post-natal multivitamin in the U.S. should remain strong going forward. The company is working on extending the Prenate Elite line, and recently launched a new vitamin, Ostiva, which will give women nutritional support to help maintain healthy bones. A special sales force is in place for the promotion of the Prenate line of products. ACcording to Zacks Equity Research Analyst Jason Napodano, CFA, Sciele should be able to post total top-line sales growth of 18% and bottom-line earnings growth of approximately 22% over the next 4 years. That is clearly among the upper echelon of specialty pharmaceuticals companies. Valuation is attractive in his view given the strong growth potential. SCRX has met or exceeded earnings estimates in 12 out of the past 13 quarters. Year-over-year growth has consistently been above 30% over that time period. Three analysts have raised their forecasts for this year, while seven have done so for next year. Earnings estimates for 2007 have increased a solid 16 cents to $1.57 per share over the past 90 days. The stock is trading at a reasonable 15.4x 2007 earnings. Content Courtesy: Zacks Investment Research #1 Ranked Stocks Highlight Archive To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That is why we created the free special report: Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home