Walgreen Sales Sluggish; Rite Aid Soars

Walgreen(WAG) is the first drugstore chain to post May sales, and if the company's results are any indication of what lies ahead, it's not promising.

The company reported a 1% increase in May same-store sales, but missed analysts' expectations of a 2.2% jump.

Pharmacy comparable sales rose just 1.5%, hurt by the introduction of generic drugs this year. Analysts predicted a 3.5% rise in this segment.

Prescriptions filled on a same-store basis rose 2.8%.

Pharmacy sales accounted for 65% of total sales.

Total monthly sales rose 6.1% to $5.37 billion. Sales in 2009 are up 7.2% to $47.64 billion, while same-store sales for the year-to-date period rose 1.9%.

Walgreen opened 43 stores in May, including four relocations and the acquisition of 38 stores. The company closed three stores.

Shares of the company were up by a little more than 1% to $31.56 in morning trading. By comparison, its rival Rite Aid(RAD) saw its shares soar more than 12% to $1.46, continuing the upward trend that the stock has seen since mid-March.

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