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Investing.com - Pfizer has raised and narrowed its full-year earnings outlook for a second consecutive quarter, after strong demand for its blood thinner medication helped fuel solid third-quarter returns.
The drugmaker has been pushing to diversify its offerings as a pandemic-era boost from COVID-19 jab sales wanes due to declining rates of infection and vaccination. Faced with the cooling demand for the company’s Comirnaty vaccine and Paxlovid antiviral, CEO Albert Bourla has been focusing on rolling out new products while slashing costs.
Meanwhile, Pfizer has been engaged in a legal battle with Denmark’s Novo Nordisk over Metsera. Novo has launched an unsolicited bid to acquire the weight-loss drug developer, even though Metsera had previously agreed to be purchased by Pfizer in a deal worth $7.3 billion.
Two lawsuits have been filed by Pfizer, one against Metsera and its board, accusing them of breaching their merger agreement. Another suit was logged against Novo Nordisk, alleging the firm has engaged in antitrust violations -- a claim Novo has denied.
Notably, Pfizer was the first big-name pharmaceutical firm to sign a deal with the Trump administration agreeing to lower prescription drug prices in its Medicare program in return for three-year relief from the White House’s sweeping tariffs. Bourla has said the move will help to bring "clarity" to Pfizer’s future.
Against this backdrop, Pfizer lifted its annual diluted profit outlook to a range of $3.00 to $3.15 per share, after having previously seen the figure at $2.90 to $3.10 a piece.
It also reaffirmed its full-year revenue guidance of $61 billion to $64 billion.
Third-quarter adjusted earnings per share stood at $0.87 on revenue of $16.65 billion, underpinned by a 22% jump in sales of its Eliquis blood thinner to $2.02 billion and an uptick in demand for its heart disease drugs. Analysts had expected Pfizer to earn $0.63 a share and revenue of $16.59 billion, according to Reuters.
Shares of Pfizer edged below the flatline in premarket U.S. trading on Tuesday.
(Reuters contributed reporting.)