Business Corpus: Teva Pulls Off Quarterly Beat Despite Generic Copaxone WorriesTeva on Thursday reported adjusted profit of 94 cents per share on revenue of $5.07 billion for its first quarter. The post Teva Pulls Off Quarterly Beat Despite Generic Copaxone Worries appeared first on Investor's Business Daily.

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Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) popped early Thursday after the Israeli drugmaker topped Wall Street's first-quarter estimates, raised its 2018 outlook and said it expects a key migraine drug to get approval this year.

On the stock market today, Teva shares lifted as much as 4.8% before wildly reversing course. The stock ended the regular trading session down 4.4% to 17.78. Shares are consolidating with a buy point at 22.74. Meanwhile, their generic drugs group dipped a fraction.

Mizuho analyst Irina Koffler reiterated her buy rating and 27 price target on Teva. She noted the commentary regarding Teva's preventative chronic migraine drug, called fremanezumab, should help the stock.

"Teva indicated that it expects a pre-approval inspection of the Celltrion facility in the coming months and to launch fremanezumab before the end of 2018," she said in a report. "This news may remove a prior concern that weighed on the stock last quarter."

Fremanezumab belongs to a class of drugs designed to block the calcitonin gene-related peptide, or CGRP, receptor believed to be intricately tied to migraines. Amgen (AMGN), Eli Lilly (LLY) and Alder Biopharmaceuticals (ALDR) are also working on these preventative treatments.

Generic Drugs, Copaxone Decline

Teva reported smaller-than-expected declines for the first quarter. Adjusted profit of 94 cents a share fell 11.3% but crushed views for 68 cents. Sales came in at $5.07 billion, dipping 10.4%, but that still beat the consensus of analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research for $4.8 billion.

Generic drugs, Teva's biggest unit, declined 23% in North America to $1.09 billion. Teva cited price erosion in the U.S. for the slide. But in Europe, Teva's generic drugs climbed 17% to $997 million. Growth in over-the-counter volume was partially offset by price reductions.

Sales of multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone tumbled by a third globally to $645 million, but that still beat Koffler's view for $594.5 million. In the U.S., revenue declined by 40% as Copaxone now faces generic copycats from Mylan (MYL) and Novartis (NVS) and its partner Momenta Pharmaceuticals (MNTA).

Austedo brought in $30 million, crushing Koffler's estimate for $18 million. The drug was first approved in April 2017 to treat cholera associated with Huntington's disease. In August 2017, it got approval to treat involuntary body movements tied to long-term use of some drugs.

Teva also boosted its 2018 guidance and now sees adjusted profit of $2.40-$2.65 per share, up from $2.25-$2.50. At the midpoint, that beat analysts' view for $2.43. It also expects $18.5 billion to $19 billion in sales, up slightly at the midpoint, and topping estimates for $18.65 billion.

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The post Teva Pulls Off Quarterly Beat Despite Generic Copaxone Worries appeared first on Investor's Business Daily.