We expect investors to focus on the sales performance of Acorda Therapeutics, Inc.’s ACOR newly-launched Parkinson's disease drug Inbrija when it reports first-quarter 2020 earnings results.Acorda boasts an excellent earnings surprise history, surpassing expectations in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 49.90%. In the last reported quarter, the company delivered a positive surprise of 63.41%.Shares of Acorda have plummeted 47.5% year to date against the industry’s increase of 1.4%.Let’s see, how things are shaping up for the quarter to be reported.Factors to ConsiderAcorda’s Parkinson’s disease (PD) drug Inbrija was launched in the United States last February. Sale of the drug has been rising sequentially every quarter ever since, a trend that most likely continued in the soon-to-be-reported quarter as well.Moreover, in September 2019, Inbrija was also granted a marketing approval by the European Commission (EC). This should further boost the drug’s sales in the future quarters.Meanwhile, Acorda’s lead multiple sclerosis (MS) drug Ampyra is facing generic competition in the United States. Sales of Ampyra plunged significantly year over year due to generic launches in 2019. This sales erosion is likely to have hurt the company’s first-quarter top line.However, sale of Ampyra grew 8.5% sequentially in the last reported quarter. It remains to be seen whether this trend continued in the to-be-reported quarter.In September 2018, Ampyra lost its exclusivity as generics like Mylan’s MYL authorized generic version entered the market.We note that the coronavirus disease ravaged the world of late. Hence, in the wake of the current adverse scenario, it remains to be seen whether the sales of Acorda’s drugs took a hit from the COVID-19 pandemic in first-quarter release.Earnings WhispersOur proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Acorda this season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of a positive surprise. But this is not the case here.Earnings ESP: Acorda has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% as both the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are pegged at a loss of 35 cents per share. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.Zacks Rank: Acorda carries a Zacks Rank #2, which increases the predictive power of ESP. However, its 0.00% ESP makes surprise prediction difficult.Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. QuoteStocks to ConsiderHere are some biotech stocks that have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this time around:Gilead Science GILD has an Earnings ESP of +20.00% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is scheduled to release results on Apr 30. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Alexion Pharmaceuticals ALXN has an Earnings ESP of +0.83% and a Zacks Rank of2. The company is scheduled to release results on May 6.More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.Click here for the 6 trades >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ALXN): Free Stock Analysis Report Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. (ACOR): Free Stock Analysis Report Mylan N.V. (MYL): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.