WebMD Prescribes Higher Revenue and Profits
ThinkstockHealth information website WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ: WBMD) this morning raised its second-quarter estimates for revenues and profits, citing higher demand for its advertising and sponsorships, especially from biopharmaceutical companies. The company also boosted its full fiscal year guidance. For…
Health information website WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ: WBMD) this morning raised its second-quarter estimates for revenues and profits, citing higher demand for its advertising and sponsorships, especially from biopharmaceutical companies. The company also boosted its full fiscal year guidance.
For the second quarter, WebMD now expects revenues of $124 million to $125 million, up 10% from previous guidance of $115 million. Adjusted EBITDA guidance was raised to $29 million, and net income is expected to reach $0.05 per share. The current consensus estimate calls for break-even earnings per share (EPS) in the second quarter.
For the full year, WebMD now estimates revenues at $485 million to $505 million, up from previous guidance of $450 million to $470 million. The company’s estimate for adjusted EBITDA has been lifted from a range of $75 million to $88 million to a new range of $100 million to $110 million. Net income, which actually had been forecast as a net loss, is now expected to total $3 million to $11 million. Based on 49.1 million shares outstanding, that works out to EPS of around $0.06 to $0.22. The consensus estimate called for a net loss of $0.02 per share for the year.
Over the past year, WebMD’s stock has risen by 32% to around $30 a share. Unfortunately, at its peak the share price was near $60 a share.
Today’s announcement has lifted the stock by 15% in premarket trading, to $31.00 in a 52-week range of $13.13 to $31.63. A new yearly high is certainly possible when trading begins.
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Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.
