Enter earnings. Health stocks outperformed the broader markets Tuesday after getting the first second-quarter rehashes from a couple of big names.
Post market-close Monday
Genentech
( DNA) missed on earnings per share but posted
impressive sales numbers
. The company reported adjusted profit of 82 cents a share on revenue of $3.2 billion. Wall Street expected of 86 cents a share on revenue of $3.23 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.
The company reported U.S. sales of $650 million and $651 million for lead drugs Avastin and Rituxan, surpassing consensus targets of $645 million and $634 million, respectively. Genentech also upped its full-year 2008 non-GAAP earnings guidance to a range of $3.40 to $3.50 a share, up from a previous range of $3.35 to $3.45.
Genentech shares were traded up 5.2%, or $3.91, to $79.30. The company's Rituxan partner,
Biogen Idec
(BIIB) - Get Report
, saw its shares rise $2.48, or 4.1%, to $63.50.
Genentech and Biogen Idec are both components of the Amex biotechnology index, which was up an impressive 2.9% at 781.62.
Meanwhile,
Johnson & Johnson
(JNJ) - Get Report
aired its earnings
Tuesday morning. During the quarter, currency benefit and growth in medical device and consumer sales helped to offset falling pharmaceutical sales.
Factoring out an R&D charge of $40 million tied to its Amic acquisition, the company said it earned $3.4 billion, or $1.18 a share. Sales increased 8.7% year over year to $16.5 billion. Analysts, on average, were looking for earnings of $1.12 a share on revenue of $16 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.
Looking ahead, J&J upped its earnings guidance for the full year to $4.45 to $4.50 a share, factoring out one-time charges. Shares were up $1.41, or 2.1%, at $67.82.
In news unrelated to earnings,
ViroPharma
(VPHM)
said Tuesday that it will
(LEVP)
for $442.9 million upfront, or $2.75 a share ($2.25 in cash and 50 cents in ViroPharma common stock). The company could pay an additional $1 a share based on certain regulatory and commercial milestones -- bringing the deal's potential value to $617.5 million. Both boards have approved the transaction, which is expected to close by the end of 2008. ViroPharma shares fell $1.93, or 15.4%, to $10.61.
In analyst actions, Lehman Brothers boosted its rating for
Schering-Plough
( SGP) to overweight from equal weight and raised its price target to $27 from $22. Shares were traded up 95 cents, or 4.4%, to $22.33.
On Wednesday, look for earnings from
Abbott Laboratories
(ABT) - Get Report
and
St. Jude Medical
(STJ)
. Wall Street is looking for earnings of 79 cents a share on revenue of $7.2 billion from Abbott, and profit of 55 cents a share on revenue of roughly $1.06 billion from St. Jude.
