Teva stock made inroads toward its 50-day line on Wednesday after the pharma giant rode its generics drugs business to a third-quarter beat.
During the September quarter, Teva Pharmaceutical's generic drugs division brought in nearly $2.2 billion in sales, above forecasts for $2.08 billion, according to FactSet. Sales in the U.S. came in well ahead of expectations, though generics in Europe and internationally were light. Overall, sales of generic drugs climbed almost 10%.
The company also raised its sales outlook for the year, and now expects $15.1 billion to $15.5 billion. At the midpoint, that's an increase of $100,000 over Teva's guidance issued three months ago. Teva also announced plans to separate its active pharmaceutical ingredients business, Teva api, and named Dr. R. Ananthanarayanan as the chief executive.
Teva CEO Richard Francis says the company is pivoting into a new growth period. The firm recently inked a deal with Sanofi to codevelop an anti-inflammatory drug and now expects final-phase test results from a potential schizophrenia treatment in the latter half of 2024.
"We are on track to reach our 2023 growth targets through continued optimization of sales and marketing efforts," he said in a written statement. "In our generics business, we are focusing our portfolio on high-value, complex products and optimizing our network."
On today's stock market, Teva stock jumped 1.2%, closing at 9.15. Shares are consolidating with a buy point at 10.72, according to MarketSmith.com.
Teva Stock: Austedo Misses
Across all products, Teva's sales jumped 7% to $3.85 billion. In addition to strong sales from generics, the company noted strength from Austedo in North America and Ajovy globally.
Austedo, which treats two movement disorders, brought in $339 million in North America, growing 30%. Austedo sales came in light, though, with analysts projecting $345 million. Francis, the CEO, said Wall Street's views could have been artificially inflated after Teva launched its once-a-day version of Austedo.
"If you look at total prescriptions we're getting to patients, we're having really good momentum and increasing momentum," he told Investor's Business Daily. "I think we're actually really pleased. Because of that, we reconfirmed our $1.2 billion in 2023 and, probably more importantly, we reconfirmed our commitment to deliver $2.5 billion (in Austedo sales) by 2027."
Ajovy generated $114 million in sales, up almost 23%.
In addition to raising its sales outlook, Teva guided to adjusted profit of $2.25 to $2.55 a share. Teva stock analysts forecast earnings of $2.27 a share and $15.17 billion in sales.
Follow Allison Gatlin on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @IBD_AGatlin.
