AbbVie stock reversed higher Thursday on a strong second-quarter showing from immunology drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoq, though earnings missed some Street projections.
The duo treat forms of arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, among other conditions. Skyrizi sales launched nearly 45% year over year to $2.73 billion. Rinvoq, the smaller of the two, brought in $1.43 billion, surging nearly 56% vs. the year-earlier period. Sales of both beat expectations.
AbbVie is betting on growth from Skyrizi and Rinvoq to make up for Humira's downfall. Humira remains the company's biggest moneymaker. Bur Skyrizi is on the brink of overtaking it. During the quarter, Humira sales tumbled nearly 30% to $2.81 billion amid continuing competition with less expensive biosimilars. But that still topped forecasts.
On the stock market today, AbbVie stock popped 3.4% to 182.18. Shares recently broke out of a cup-with-handle base and a buy point at 173.88, according to MarketSurge.
AbbVie Stock: Earnings Miss Some Forecasts
Total revenue advanced 4.3% to $14.46 billion, beating expectations for $14.02 billion, according to FactSet. Adjusted earnings were a mixed bag, though, at $2.65 per share. Earnings fell 8.9%, coming in above FactSet-polled analysts' view for $2.57, but below Visible Alpha's call for $2.68, William Blair analyst Tim Lugo said in a report.
"The (sales) beat was mainly driven by strength in the immunology franchise, which beat our estimate by $227 million, and the hematology/oncology franchise, which beat our estimate by $129 million, partially offset by weakness in the aesthetics franchise, which missed our estimate by $136 million," he said.
Aesthetics sales, which include Botox, will be key to watch. Cosmetic Botox sales climbed 6.4% to $729 million. But analysts called for a stronger $735.4 million. Neurology sales were also light at $2.16 billion vs. projections for $2.18 billion.
"Commentary on the health of the U.S. aesthetics market and in major international markets will be important as investors look for franchise recovery and around competitive positioning," Lugo said.
AbbVie Hikes Its Earnings Outlook
AbbVie raised its earnings outlook for the year. The pharma company now expects to earn $10.71 to $10.91 per share, up 10 cents at the midpoint from its prior outlook. That includes a 60-cent hit related to tax charges.
The midpoint of the new outlook beat projections for $10.78 a share. AbbVie stock analysts also forecast $55.24 billion in sales.
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