Teva stock plunged Wednesday — sacrificing an earlier breakout — despite beating Wall Street's third-quarter expectations and raising its guidance.
Shares initially advanced 2.9% to 19.31, breaking out of a cup base with a buy point at 19.08, according to MarketSurge. But Teva Pharmaceutical stock quickly retreated. Teva stock closed down 7.1% at 17.43.
But Chief Executive Richard Francis remained upbeat.
"This is a new Teva now," he told Investor's Business Daily. "We talked about pivotal growth 18, 20 months ago. People thought it was a story. They thought it was fiction. I think people are seeing now, after several quarters of growth, that this is not fiction, this is a plan we're executing."
Teva Stock: Sales, Earnings Climb
Overall, Teva earned an adjusted 69 cents per share on $4.33 billion in sales. Earnings climbed almost 11% year over year and topped analysts' projections by 3 cents a share. Sales rose 13% to $4.33 billion, or 15% in constant currency. The Street called for a lower $4.14 billion in sales.
Francis noted strong growth from Austedo, Teva's treatment for a movement disorder called tardive dyskinesia, brought in $435 million in sales, up 28%. Austedo is poised to generate $1.6 billion in sales this year, Francis said.
Other key drivers include migraine treatment Ajovy and Uzedy, a schizophrenia drug. Ajovy sales rose 21% to $137 million, while Uzedy brought in $35 million in U.S. sales. Uzedy widely topped forecasts, but FactSet didn't have estimates for Austedo and Ajovy.
Teva is also seeing stabilization in its generics business. Globally, sales of generic drugs advanced 16% to $2.54 billion.
Francis, the CEO, noted Teva recently launched Victoza, a generic version of Novo Nordisk's diabetes treatment. Victoza, like Novo's Ozempic, mimics the GLP-1 hormone to improve feelings of satiety and blood sugar markers. Teva is also working on a generic version of Novo's weight-loss drug Saxenda. Saxenda uses the same active ingredient as Victoza.
Raised 2024 Outlook
Teva raised its outlook for the year. The company now expects $16.1 billion to $16.5 billion in sales and adjusted earnings of $2.40 to $2.50 per share.
The midpoint of Teva's guidance is relatively in line with analysts' call for $16.27 billion in sales and earnings of $2.45 a share.
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