Pfizer stock reversed early losses Tuesday on a raised outlook for the year, driven by strong second-quarter sales of heart-disease and cancer drugs.
Edward Jones analyst John Boylan said Pfizer faced "heightened investor expectations" in the quarter. And the company delivered.
Sales from heart-disease drug Vyndaqel and cancer treatment Padcev easily beat expectations. Vyndaqel sales rocketed 71% operationally to $1.32 billion, topping forecasts for $1.01 billion. Padcev, which Pfizer acquired with Seagen, brought in $394 million, smashing analysts' $352.6 million projection.
"Strong Padcev sales and certain other cancer drugs were encouraging given the attention Pfizer is giving to this disease," Boylan said in a report.
On today's stock market, Pfizer stock rose 2.2% to close at 31.39, paring earlier losses. Shares topped a buy zone that ranges from 29.73 to 31.22, according to MarketSurge.
Pfizer Stock: $4 Billion In Expected Savings
Across all products, Pfizer's sales climbed 3% operationally to $13.3 billion. Analysts projected a lower $13.03 billion, according to FactSet. Adjusted earnings came in at 60 cents per share, also beating views for 46 cents a share despite taking an 18-cent hit from costs tied to manufacturing optimization. Earnings fell 11% year over year.
Pfizer says it's on track to deliver at least $4 billion in net cost savings by the end of the year.
"The company is also doing a solid job controlling costs, especially cost of goods sold (costs associated with making and transporting products), which we expect to continue," Boylan said.
He kept his buy rating on Pfizer stock.
In addition to strong sales from Vyndaqel and Padcev, Pfizer reported better-than-expected sales from Covid treatment Paxlovid. Paxlovid sales rocketed 79% to $251 million. In the year-earlier period, there were no Paxlovid sales in the U.S. as Pfizer transitioned to the commercial market.
Comirnaty, Pfizer's BioNTech-partnered Covid vaccine, brought in $195 million in sales, below calls for $200 million. Sales plummeted nearly 87%.
Excluding the impact of Paxlovid and Comirnaty, Pfizer's sales grew 14%.
Hiked Guidance 'Appears Conservative'
For the year, Pfizer guided to $59.5 billion to $62.5 billion, up $1 billion at the midpoint from its prior outlook. That beat expectations for $60.65 billion. The company also raised its adjusted earnings view to $2.45 to $2.65 per share, above forecasts for $2.35 a share.
The updated guidance "appears conservative," Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger said in a report.
But he kept his market perform rating on Pfizer stock.
Follow Allison Gatlin on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @IBD_AGatlin.
