Celgene's 2% Share Decline May Be Due To Disappointing 2020 Guidance, Analyst Says

Celgene Corp. shares, which declined 2.4% in morning trade, may be sliding because investors hoped the company would raise its 2020 guidance today, Evercore ISI analyst Mark Schoenebaum said Thursday. Celgene officially reported fourth-quarter earnings Thursday, but the company had announced guidance earlier this month. Based on "bullish" statements by company management at the J.P. Morgan Health Care conference in mid-January, "some folks thought that CELG might officially raise their 2020 guidance today," Schoenebaum said, cautioning that he can't be sure that contributed to the decline. But "this is classic CELG stock behavior around quarterly results," he said. "There seems to always be a pre-call thesis out there that they'll raise guidance." The company may have said it can grow EPS every year from 2020 to 2030 but that "would be a remarkable accomplishment," he said. Celgene shares have risen 13.3% over the last three months, compared with a 7.5% rise in the S&P 500 .