AbbVie Rises on Strong Second-Quarter Results, Raised Guidance

Shares of drugmaker AbbVie gain after the company posts better-than-expected quarterly earnings and raises its guidance for the remainder of the year.
By M. Corey Goldman ,

Shares of drugmaker AbbVie (ABBV) - Get Report gained on Friday after the company posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings and raised its guidance for the remainder of the year as sales of its top-selling arthritis drug Humira chugged along at a better pace than anticipated, particularly in the U.S.

The Chicago-based company posted second-quarter earnings of $741 million, or 49 cents a share, vs. $1.98 billion, or $1.26 a share, in the comparable year-earlier period. Stripping out a $2.28 billion charge for future payments associated with its plaque psoriasis drug Skyrizi, the company earned $2.26 a share, above the $2.21 a share expected by analysts polled by FactSet. 

AbbVie in April won U.S. approval to distribute Skyrizi alongside German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim. The drug has so far brought in sales of $48 million for AbbVie.

In the latest quarter, competition outside the U.S. caused overall Humira sales to slip about 6% to $4.87 billion, though they still still beat the $4.80 billion forecast by analysts. U.S. sales for Humira rose 7.7% to $3.79 billion, though revenue outside the country slumped 35.2% to $1.08 billion.

Total net sales dipped slightly to $8.26 billion from $8.28 billion, though still came in well above analysts' average estimate of $8.1 billion.

AbbVie last month unveiled plans for a $63 billion acquisition of Allergan AGN, a deal that will give it a new revenue stream in the wrinkle-smoothing drug Botox to cover an expected decline in revenue from its arthritis drug Humira, which is poised to lose its patent protection.

Separately, AbbVie said it was raising it 2019 adjusted per-share earnings forecast to between $8.82 and $8.92 from a prior range of $8.73 to $8.83.

Shares of AbbVie were up 1.89% at $67.92 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. They ended the day Thursday down 1.19% at $66.66. 

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