Alexion Management On Internal Investigation: So Far, So Good

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN) announced on November 9 that its 10Q filing would be delayed due to the ongoing investigation into the company’s sales practices.

Credit Suisse’s Alethia Young maintains an Outperform rating on the company with a price target of $165.

Delayed Filing

Young believes that “so far that the company has not uncovered anything yet that would require restatement or suggest wrongdoing, but the company is taking the matter raised very seriously.”

The analyst explained it was still early in the investigation, making it difficult to predict the final outcome, while Alexion Pharma has been “relatively quiet” about the ongoing investigation.

The stock declined 6 percent in the after-hours session on November 9, on the back of the announcement regarding the delay in the 10Q filing.

The Investigation

“As it relates to timing, the company thinks that it will take longer than a matter of days to file the 10Q and we would guess it could take weeks,” Young stated.

Alexion Pharma also indicated that the investigation was distinct and separate from the SEC and DoJ FCPA information requests from 2015.

The allegation regarding the Soliris sales practices was raised by a former employee of the company. Soliris is Alexion Pharma first approved drug and is meant for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, a blood disorder.