Alimera Sciences Inc. ALIM will provide updates on its corporate and financial developments when it releases second-quarter 2020 results.

The company reported sales of $14.5 million, a 12% increase year over year in the first quarter of 2020. However, sales were adversely impacted in the late first quarter due to the onset of COVID-19 pandemic in the regions where the company operates.

The company has a mixed earnings surprise history, surpassing expectations in two of the trailing four quarters while missing in one and meeting in the other. The four-quarter negative earnings surprise is 22.7%, on average.In the last reported quarter, the company delivered an earnings surprise of 44.19%.

Shares of Alimera have declined 22.1% in the year so far against the industry’s growth of 9.8%.

Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

Factors to Consider

Alimera’s only marketed drug is ILUVIEN, approved In the United States and certain other countries outside Europe for the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME) in patients who have been previously treated with a course of corticosteroids and did not have a clinically significant rise in intraocular pressure.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company’s access to physicians and patients’ willingness to visit physicians have become limited, especially for diabetic patients who are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19. The sales representatives of the company have not been able to meet retina specialists and their staff to educate them about the benefits of ILUVIEN. This is expected to have adversely impacted second-quarter revenues of the company. However, the extent and duration of that impact are uncertain at this time.
 

In order toaddress the current environment, the company took the decision to manage its cost structure in the second quarter, minimizing all non-payroll spending wherever possible to mitigate any anticipated loss of revenues in this quarter. The company is retaining its personnel to serve physicians when access is restored. This should get reflected in the second-quarter results.

Due to the pandemic, in May, the company withdrew any previously communicated guidance regarding revenue growth and cash flow in 2020.

What Our Model Indicates

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Alimera this season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. But that is not the case here as you will see below.

Earnings ESP: Alimera has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: The company carries a Zacks Rank #3.

Stocks to Consider

Here are some biotech stocks with the right mix of elements to beat on earnings this time around:

Alkermes Plc. ALKS has an Earnings ESP of +362.51% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is scheduled to release second-quarter 2020 results on Jul 29. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here

Agenus Inc. AGEN has an Earnings ESP of +15.85% and a Zacks Rank #2.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ACAD has an Earnings ESP of +8.12% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The company is scheduled to release second quarter 2020 results on Aug 5.

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