Pfizer 3rd-Q Profit Seen at 57 Cents a Share: Earnings Outlook
Bloomberg News
October 9, 1998, 5:06 p.m. ET
Expected Earnings
Pfizer Inc.'s third-quarter earnings are expected to rise to
57 cents a share, the average estimate of analysts polled by
First Call Corp. The drugmaker earned 46 cents a share in the
year-earlier period.
Time
Pfizer, maker of the impotence pill Viagra and the
antidepressant Zoloft, is expected to release earnings next week.
Behind the Numbers
Pfizer introduced two drugs this year, Viagra and the
antibiotic Trovan. It also has been able to boost sales of its
other drugs, such as the depression medicine Zoloft. Pfizer also
helps market Warner-Lambert Co.'s blockbuster drug, the
cholesterol reducer Lipitor. Introduced in 1997, Lipitor had
second-quarter sales of $533 million.
New York-based Pfizer intends to shed its medical-device
businesses to focus on more profitable drug business. Last month,
Pfizer sold two of these units for a combined $2.23 billion. It
intends to sell a third medical-device business for $1.9 billion.
What the Experts Say
''Look at the fundamentals of Pfizer,'' said Robert Flamm,
an analyst with Evergreen Asset Management, which holds about
214,000 shares of the company. ''They're a marketing machine,
they're a research machine. They know how to get products out.''
Previous Market Reaction
Pfizer rose 2 1/2 to 116 on July 9 when it reported a 38
percent increase in profit, topping estimates. Viagra had an
unprecedented U.S. introduction in April. Second-quarter sales
reached $411 million as pharmacies stocked up on the drug and
magazine and news reports helped raise demand.
Market Trend
Pfizer has dropped 19 percent to 93 since reporting second-
quarter results. In the same period, the Standard & Poor's Drugs
Index fell 5.5 percent and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell
15 percent.
Pfizer fell as reported U.S. Viagra sales declined. Sales
peaked at 308,631 prescriptions in the week ended May 8,
according to NDC Health Information Services, which monitors
pharmacy sales. Viagra sales seem to be increasing again, NDC
said. In the week ended Oct. 2, 190,538 Viagra prescriptions were
filled, up from 169,946 a week earlier, said NDC, a unit of
Atlanta-based National Data Corp.
--Kerry Dooley in the Princeton newsroom (609) 279-4016 /mfr |
