AbbVie Shares Up After Earnings Beat and Guidance Boost

By Michael Dabaie

AbbVie Inc. shares were up nearly 4.3%, to $114.37, after the biopharmaceutical company beat third-quarter analyst estimates and boosted its guidance and quarterly dividend.

The company earlier reported third-quarter worldwide net revenue of $14.342 billion, up 11.2% and beating FactSet consensus of $14.298 billion.

Adjusted earnings per share were $3.33, above the $3.22 FactSet consensus.

AbbVie also raised its full-year GAAP earnings per share guidance range to $6.29 to $6.33 and adjusted EPS forecast to $12.63 to $12.67. The company also raised its cash dividend to $1.41.

The forecast marked the third time the biopharma raised its adjusted earnings guidance this year.

"Most of the key products performed well, including Humira, Skyrizi, Rinvoq and Botox/aesthetics, with Imbruvica the one notable exception," Mizuho Securities USA said in an analyst note.

Global Imbruvica net revenue were $1.374 billion, an increase of 0.3%, with U.S. net revenue of $1.109 billion and international profit sharing of $265 million.

AbbVie also said Friday a Phase 3 study of its antipsychotic drug Vraylar as an adjunctive treatment for major depressive disorder met its primary endpoint, and that it plans to seek expanded approval in the indication from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. AbbVie said Vraylar showed a statistically significant change from baseline to week six compared with placebo in major depressive disorder. AbbVie said Vraylar showed numerical improvement in depressive symptoms from baseline to week six in a second Phase 3 study but didn't achieve statistical significance.

Mizuho said the topline data "appear mixed to negative to us at first glance."

--Colin Kellaher contributed to this article

Write to Michael Dabaie at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 29, 2021 11:39 ET (15:39 GMT)

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