The Questcor Strikes Back

• Posted by Danny
• on February 23rd, 2012

After taking a big hit from The StreetSweeper last month, QCOR retaliates with a strong QFOUR.

Are the allegations of impropriety and crude sales tactics legit? I don’t know, but things sure as hell smell fishy after The StreetSweeper leveled a body blow to Questcor Pharmaceuticals ($QCOR) and its investors back on January 11, 2012.

At that time they told their followers that in the next week they would be releasing the first in a two-part investigative report on QCOR, and that they had already “sold 80,599 shares of QCOR short at an average price of $41.46 a share in anticipation of a future decline in the stock price.”

Well the stock immediately tanked after that statement. Talk about good timing! Here’s what they finally reported.

In response, QCOR basically said they didn’t know who the funk StreetSweeper was or what they were up to, but answered their questions nevertheless. It’s laid out here.

Even better than responding to their inquiries though, QCOR unleashed a most awesome Q4 report last night that beat the consensus on both EPS and revs. Full year numbers kicked ass too.

Here’s the digits for Q4 YoY:

• Sales +158%
• Net income +292%
• Acthar vial shipments +100%
• Filled Rx’s for MS +167%

Full year 2011:

• Sales +90%
• Net income +127%
• Acthar vial shipments +60%
• Filled Rx’s for MS +155%

The StockTwits stream was abuzz after earnings, with the majority of the community seemingly on QCOR’s side of the showdown. Check out @bbolan1‘s awesome tweets as he followed their conference call.

 

Ranked #21 in the BeanScreen, we don’t own any QCOR shares right now, but we’ve been watching them very closely as their fundamentals appear to be pretty strong at this time.

There is a part of me that just wants to give StreetSweeper the finger and buy a bunch of shares in QCOR, but as stated above, we just don’t know for sure if the allegations have any merit or not. I hate unknowns like this…better to wait and let the dust settle.

One thing is certain though, if QCOR’s stock behaves anything like Bio-Reference Lab’s ($BRLI) did after they got blitzed by StreetSweeper on Nov. 2, 2011, then good times are ahead.

BRLI has almost doubled off its lows since getting “swept”.

 

sources:  Questcor Earnings Beat Street; Stock Rises Late – Investors.com

Questcor Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2011 Financial Results – Y! Finance

Questcor Pharmaceuticals Responds to Questions From Investor Blog – Y! Finance

Questcor: A Bold Strategy Threatened by the Fine Print? – TheStreetSweeper

Is Bio-Reference Laboratories As Healthy As It Seems? – Seeking Alpha

Questcor.com

disclosure:  we do not own any shares in QCOR or BRLI at this time

 

The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.

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