Biogen shares surge 4.2% on Q2 profit, revenue beats
Biogen Inc. shares surged 4.2% in Tuesday premarket trade after the company reported second-quarter profit and revenue beats and raised its 2018 profit and revenue guidance. Earnings for the latest quarter rose to $867 million, or $4.18 per share, from $863 million, or $4.07 per share in the year-earlier period. Adjusted earnings-per-share were $5.80, above the FactSet consensus of $5.21. Revenue for the latest quarter rose to $3.36 billion from $3.08 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $3.25 billion. Sales of Spinraza, Tysabri, Avonex and Fampyra came in above the FactSet consensus, while Plegridy sales matched the FactSet consensus and Tecfidera and biosimilar sales missed the consensus. Of revenue brought in by Spinraza, $206 million comprised U.S. sales and $217 million in sales came from outside the U.S., compared with $195 million in U.S. sales and $8 million in ex-U.S. sales in the second quarter of 2017. Biogen increased its 2018 revenue guidance from a range of between $12.7 billion to $13.0 billion to a range of about $13 billion to $13.2 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $12.96 billion. The company also now expects 2018 adjusted EPS of $24.90 to $25.50, an increase from previous guidance of $24.20 to $25.20, and a range that is above the FactSet consensus of $23.83. Biogen also announced on Tuesday that it has acquired two neuromuscular drugs, a preclinical product and a drug that is in phase 1a trials, from the privately-held biotechnology company AliveGen Inc. for $27.5 million upfront; AliveGen is also eligible for up to $535 million in additional milestone payments. Biogen shares have surged 36.6% over the last three months, compared with a 6.5% rise in the S&P 500 and a 4.3% rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average .