At different times of the year, certain sectors come alive or slow down. Typically each year, the first quarter is the slowest for the biotechs, so many analysts tend to be somewhat careful when putting out estimates for earnings and revenue. However, after the earnings have come out analysts, are less shy in terms of issuing calls here.

With earnings having just been released for some of the major companies in this industry, we saw a flurry of analyst calls by the week’s end. Biotech companies that reported this past week include Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN), Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN), Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD), Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ: CELG) and BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: BMRN).

24/7 Wall St. has included some highlights from each of the earnings reports, as well as what analysts are now saying about these companies.

Alexion reported $1.11 in earnings per share (EPS) on $701 million in, compared to consensus estimates that called for $1.13 in EPS on $711.9 million. A few analysts weighed in:

• BMO upgraded it to Outperform and raised its price target to $168.
• Leerink has an Outperform rating and lowered its price target to $200 from $216.
• Morgan Stanley lowered its price target to $203 from $210.
• Raymond James lowered its price target to $200 from $225.
• Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $228 price target.

Shares of Alexion closed trading at $139.28 on Friday, with a from Thomson Reuters consensus analyst price target of $197.21 and a 52-week trading range of $124.16 to $208.88.

When Amgen released its first-quarter earnings report on Thursday, it said it had EPS of $2.90 and $5.53 billion in revenue, versus consensus estimates of $2.56 in EPS on revenue of $5.36 billion. After the earnings report, analysts clamored to weigh in on the world’s largest biotech drugmaker:

• BMO has an Outperform rating and raised its price target to $186.
• Goldman Sachs adjusted its price target to $202 from $201.
• JPMorgan has a Neutral rating with a $169 price target.
• Leerink has a Market Perform rating and raised its price target to $186 from $179.
• Piper Jaffray has an Overweight rating with a $193 price target to $193.

Amgen shares closed trading at $158.30 on Friday, within a 52-week trading range of $130.09 to $181.81. The consensus price target is $181.00.

On Thursday, Gilead’s first-quarter report showed $3.03 in EPS on $7.79 billion in revenue. The consensus estimates has called for $3.14 per share and $8.11 billion. In the same period of the previous year, it posted EPS of $2.94 and revenue of $7.59 billion. Analyst calls issued after earnings said:

• Jefferies has a Hold rating and lowered its price target to $96 from $101.
• BMO has a Market Perform rating with a price target of $97.
• Cowen lowered its price target to $125 from $130.
• JPMorgan has an Overweight rating and lowered its price target to $116 from $122.
• Leerink has an Outperform rating and lowered its price target to $123 from $127.
• Morgan Stanley has an Equal Weight rating and lowered its price target to $107 from $108.

Gilead ended last week’s trading at $88.21, with a consensus price target of $114.29 and a 52-week range of $81.89 to $123.37.

Celgene released its first-quarter financial results on Wednesday. It posted $1.32 in EPS on revenue of $2.51 billion, versus consensus estimates of $1.26 in EPS on $2.58 billion in revenue. After the earnings report, a few analysts weighed in on Celgene:

• BMO has an Outperform rating with a price target of $132.
• Leerink has a Market Perform rating and lowered its price target to $125 from $129.
• Morgan Stanley has an Equal Weight rating and raised its price target to $127 from $125.

Shares of Celgene were last seen at $103.41. The consensus price target is $137.09. The 52-week range is $92.98 to $140.72.

And BioMarin shared its latest financial results on Thursday. The company reported a first-quarter net loss of $0.16 per share, compared to consensus estimate of a net loss of $0.85 per share. The reported revenue of $236.7 million fell short of the $240.3 million expected. Analysts weighed in on BioMarin:

• BMO raised its price target to $108 from $107.
• Cowen has an Outperform rating with a $150 price target.
• JPMorgan has an Overweight rating and raised its price target to $120 from $117.
• Oppenheimer maintained a Perform rating with a $99 price target.

BioMarin ended Friday’s trading at $84.68, within a 52-week range of $62.12 to $151.75. Its consensus price target is $116.05 and.

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