Allergan preliminary 2018 guidance disappoints, but long-term outlook is optimistic - Mizuho (170.56)
Mizuho notes the CEO noted at an investor conference that the company expects a 5% top-line growth CAGR from 2017-2022, which they believe could be reassuring to investors, who may opt to look beyond the 2018 numbers. Thus, the announcement could be clearing, and effectively reset expectations to a more achievable level for the year, with more optimism for the future. They also think that Allergan needs to beat its estimates in 2018, and therefore guidance is likely viewed as a low hurdle. They are less optimistic about the pipeline and don't think that 2018 pipeline catalysts will meaningfully help share momentum, and prefer to await more attractive entry points into the stock; Neutral.