Bayer AG


BAYRY

reported first-quarter 2021 core earnings of 78 cents per American Depositary Receipt (“ADR”), which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 77 cents and also increased from the year-ago quarter’s earnings of 74 cents per share.

Total sales in the first quarter were $14.86 billion, up from $14.16 billion in the year-ago quarter. Sales also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14.43 billion.

Shares of Bayer have rallied 9.9% in the year so far, compared with the

industry’s

increase of 5%.

All growth rates mentioned below are on a year-over-year basis and after adjusting for currency and portfolio changes.

Quarter in Detail

The company started reporting under three segments — Pharmaceuticals, Consumer Health and Crop Science — from the fourth quarter of 2019. Please note that the company had announced divestment of its Animal Health business to Elanco in 2019 and reports the segment under discontinued operations.

In the reported quarter, Crop Science sales were €6.646 billion, up 6.4% from the year-ago quarter driven by strong growth in the Latin America and Asia/Pacific markets. Herbicide sales increased 13.3% as a result of volume gains in all regions and higher prices. Business also improved at Fungicides and Vegetable Seeds. Sales of Corn Seed & Traits remained flat year over year.

Revenues in the Pharmaceuticals segment decreased 0.4% to €4.365 billion in the first quarter. In China, the negative effects from the implementation of new tender procedures for the products, Glucobay and Avelox, were partly offset by growth in other products, especially blood thinner drug, Xarelto, which the company co-developed with

J&J


JNJ

. Xarelto sales increased 6.5%, mainly as a result of higher volumes. in China and Russia. Sales of the ophthalmology drug, Eylea, increased 15.8%, driven by the launch of its prefilled syringes and strong demand in China. However, growth in Europe continued to be adversely impacted due to COVID-19.

Consumer Health sales were down 4.4% year over year to €1.252 billion in the first quarter primarily due to protective measures introduced in various regions due to the ongoing lockdowns.

2021 Guidance

Bayer reiterated the financial guidance it provided early this year. The company expects to post sales of about €42-€43 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate stands at $49.16 billion.

Bayer expects to generate core earnings per share of about €6.10 to €6.30.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Bayer currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Better-ranked stocks in the healthcare sector include

ASLAN Pharmaceuticals Limited


ASLN

and

Repligen Corporation


RGEN

, both carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see


the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here


.

ASLAN Pharmaceuticals’ loss per share estimates have narrowed 12.5% for 2021 and 23.3% for 2022 over the past 60 days. The stock has surged 51.9% year to date.

Repligen’s earnings estimates have been revised 15.7% upward for 2021 and 13.4% upward for 2022 over the past 60 days.

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