Business Corpus: Are Generic Drugs Stabilizing? Analyst Says Yes — And Teva Pharma JumpsTeva Pharmaceutical jumped Thursday after multiple sclerosis treatment Copaxone held up better than expected in the third quarter against generic competition. The post Are Generic Drugs Stabilizing? Analyst Says Yes — And Teva Pharma Jumps appeared first on Investor's Business Daily.

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Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) shares jumped Thursday as an analyst predicted the worst of the pricing pressure on its generic drugs could be over in 2019.

On the stock market today, Teva stock popped 15.1%, to 23. Shares rose above their 50-day moving average for the first time since late September. The Teva stock move lifted other generic pharmaceutical companies around 6%.

Third-quarter sales of Teva's generic drugs declined 25% to $922 million in North America. Globally, generic drugs brought in $2.27 billion, dipping 17%. But Moody's analyst Morris Borenstein says the trends suggest Teva's generic drugs unit could stabilize in 2019 after two years of pressure.

"The segment had a sequential decline of less than 3% in the third quarter, a positive sign that the worst of generic price pressures are behind Teva in the U.S.," he said in a note to clients.

Teva Stock: Copaxone Sales Hold Up

Generic drugs are Teva's biggest source of sales. Mizuho analyst Irina Koffler noted North American sales of generic drugs lagged analyst estimates for $932 million. But she reiterated her buy rating on Teva stock on the company's series of cost-cutting measures and branded product growth.

Total sales of $4.53 billion missed the consensus for $4.58 billion and declined 19%. But Teva earnings came in at 68 cents per share, on an adjusted basis, beating the average of analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research by 13 cents. Year over year, earnings toppled 32%.

Copaxone sales also showed some promise in the quarter, Koffler said. Mylan (MYL) and Novartis (NVS) both have generic versions of Copaxone. Sales of Teva's branded version have been in decline since those rivals launched.

Teva Earnings: Sales 'Handily' Beat Views

In the third quarter, Copaxone sales were $601 million globally. That "handily beat the consensus estimates of $391.5 million," Koffler said. On a year-over-year basis though, global Copaxone sales declined 39%. The biggest decline came from North America, where Copaxone sales plunged 43%.

Teva raised the low end of its full-year sales guidance to $18.6 billion to $19 billion. The midpoint lagged the forecast of analysts polled by Zacks for $18.91 billion.

The pharma also significantly boosted its adjusted profit outlook to $2.80-$2.95 per share, up from its prior view for $2.55-$2.80. The low end of new guidance for Teva earnings topped analysts' estimates for $2.79.

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The post Are Generic Drugs Stabilizing? Analyst Says Yes — And Teva Pharma Jumps appeared first on Investor's Business Daily.