S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component Biogen Idec, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) will unveil its latest earnings on Tuesday, January 31, 2012. Biogen Idec is a global biotechnology company that meets the rising needs of therapeutic care providers and recipients.

Biogen Idec, Inc. Earnings Preview Cheat Sheet

Wall St. Earnings Expectations: The average estimate of analysts is for net income of $1.47 per share, a rise of 4.3% from the company’s actual earnings for the same quarter a year ago. During the past three months, the average estimate has moved down from $1.55. Between one and three months ago, the average estimate moved down. It has been unchanged at $1.47 during the last month. Analysts are projecting profit to rise by 15.9% versus last year to $5.83.

Last quarter, the company came in at profit of $1.57 per share against a mean estimate of net income of $1.51 per share, beating estimates after missing them in the previous quarter. In the second quarter, it missed forecasts by 4 cents.

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Wall St. Revenue Expectations: On average, analysts predict $1.29 billion in revenue this quarter, a rise of 5.7% from the year ago quarter. Analysts are forecasting total revenue of $5.01 billion for the year, a rise of 6.1% from last year’s revenue of $4.72 billion.

Analyst Ratings: Analysts are bullish on this stock with 13 analysts rating it as a buy, none rating it as a sell and five rating it as a hold.

A Look Back: In the third quarter, profit rose 38.5% to $351.8 million ($1.43 a share) from $254.1 million ($1.05 a share) the year earlier, exceeding analyst expectations. Revenue rose 11.4% to $1.31 billion from $1.18 billion.

Key Stats:

The increase in profit in the third quarter came after net income fell in the previous quarter. In the second quarter, net income fell 1.8%.

Revenue rose in the third quarter after seeing a drop the quarter before. In the second quarter, revenue fell 0.3%.

Competitors to Watch: Elan Corp., plc (NYSE:ELN), Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN), Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (NASDAQ:TEVA), Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT), Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK), Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ:GENZ), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE:GSK), and Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY).

Stock Price Performance: During November 25, 2011 to January 25, 2012, the stock price had risen $9.15 (8.4%) from $109.20 to $118.35. The stock price saw one of its best stretches over the last year between June 16, 2011 and June 29, 2011 when shares rose for 10-straight days, rising 16.5% (+$15.45) over that span. It saw one of its worst periods between May 20, 2011 and May 27, 2011 when shares fell for six-straight days, falling 4% (-$3.90) over that span.

(Company fundamentals by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

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