ArQule Earnings Preview

ArQule (Nasdaq: ARQL  ) beat estimates by $0.18 last quarter and investors are hoping it can beat them again. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Monday, Feb. 27. ArQule is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that is engaged in the research and development of innovative cancer therapeutics directed toward molecular targets that play critical roles in the development of human cancers.

What analysts say:

• Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts are very bullish on this stock, unanimously backing it as a buy. Analysts like ArQule better than competitor AVEO Pharmaceuticals overall. Six out of seven analysts rate AVEO Pharmaceuticals a buy compared to five out of five for ArQule. Analysts haven't adjusted their rating of ArQule for the past three months.
• Revenue forecasts: On average, analysts predict $11.1 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 47.3% from the year-ago quarter.
• Wall Street earnings expectations: The average analyst estimate is a loss of $0.12 per share. Estimates range from a loss of $0.21 to a loss of $0.06.

What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly backing the stock, with 86.3% granting it an outperform rating. The community at large agrees with the All-Stars, with 88% assigning it a rating of outperform. ArQule's bearish CAPS rating of two out of five stars falls short of the Fool community sentiment.

Management:

Now let's look at how efficient management is at running the business. Traditionally, margins represent the efficiency with which companies capture portions of sales dollars. The following table shows gross, operating, and net margins over the past four quarters.

Quarter	Q3	Q2	Q1	Q4
Gross Margin	100%	100%	100%	100%
Operating Margin	(19.1%)	(200.9%)	(11.4%)	(89.4%)
Net Margin	(18.9%)	(198.3%)	(10.9%)	(76.5%)

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Earnings estimates provided by Zacks.