Roche stock skidded early Thursday after the Swiss drugmaker said declining demand for Covid products weighed on its third-quarter sales.
During the September quarter, Roche's sales dipped roughly 3% to 14.3 billion Swiss francs, or about $15.9 billion in sales. That was narrowly below forecasts for 14.5 billion Swiss francs, according to FactSet.
The company cited a decline in Covid-related products for the sales slip. On a year-to-date basis, sales grew just 1% in constant currency. But excluding the impact of strong Covid test sales last year, Roche said its revenue has actually climbed 9% this year.
Still, on today's stock market, Roche stock fell 3.1%, closing at 33.23.
Roche Stock Dips Despite Vabysmo Strength
Roche cited strong growth from Vabysmo in helping drive its third-quarter revenue. Vabysmo, which was approved last year, generated 656 million Swiss francs, or $731.3 million, beating forecasts for about 607 million Swiss francs.
The company expects Vabysmo sales to top 2 billion Swiss francs this year.
Roche also noted big-name drugs Ocrevus and Hemlibra contributed to its constant-currency growth this year. Ocrevus, a twice yearly injection for multiple sclerosis, generated 1.57 billion Swiss francs, or about $1.75 billion. That was short of Roche stock analysts' expectations for 1.61 billion Swiss francs. Hemlibra sales were also light at 1.03 billion Swiss francs, or $1.14 billion.
Investors in Roche stock were also disappointed the company affirmed its outlook for the year, rather than raising it. Roche expects full-year sales to decline by a low single-digit percentage, excluding the impact of exchange rates. That comes amid an expected 4.5 billion Swiss francs drop in sales of Covid products.
Removing the impact of Covid products, Roche expects sales growth in both its pharmaceuticals and diagnostics divisions.
Roche stock is trading below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, MarketSmith.com shows.
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