Sanofi stock popped Friday after the French pharma giant hiked its 2022 earnings outlook following a bullish quarter for its eczema drug Dupixent.
For the year, the company now expects adjusted earnings to climb 16%. Three months ago, Sanofi forecast 15% earnings growth for the year.
Dupixent helped drive growth during the quarter. Sales soared almost 45% and topped forecasts. Sanofi partners with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals on the drug, which treats eczema, asthma and a nasal condition.
"As indicated by Sanofi in its press release, the strength was primarily driven by the increase in both demand and growth across existing and newly approved indications, which added meaningful numbers of eligible patients with Dupixent," RBC Capital Markets analyst Brian Abrahams said in a report.
On today's stock market, Sanofi stock rose 3.5% to 43.05.
Sanofi Stock: A Large Impairment Charge
Overall, third-quarter sales jumped almost 20% to 12.48 billion euros. But adjusted earnings fell close to 10% to 1.66 euros per share. Based on today's exchange rates, sales were $12.42 billion and earnings came in at $1.65 a share. Both were above estimates from FactSet.
Less bullishly for Sanofi stock, the company took a $1.58 billion charge after scrapping one study of a cancer drug called SAR444245. The drug targets a cytokine known as interleukin-2. But recent efforts to target interleukin-2 have been fraught with safety concerns.
Sanofi now plans to start a Phase 1 and Phase 2 study to pinpoint the best dosing schedule for the drug. It will close an ongoing midstage study testing doses every three weeks.
Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.
