Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Biotech / Medical : PFE (Pfizer) How high will it go? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Nick who wrote (4131)	7/9/1998 7:33:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9523

Bloomberg update with more info: Pfizer's 2nd-Qtr Net Rises 38% on Sales of Viagra, New Antibiotics Bloomberg News July 9, 1998, 6:39 p.m. ET Pfizer 2nd-Qtr Net Rises 38% With Viagra Introduction (Update2) (Updates closing price to reflect late trades. Adds timing of Viagra sales in 6th paragraph, Trovan sales in 7th and 8th paragraph, sales by unit in last paragraph.) New York, July 9 (Bloomberg) -- Pfizer Inc. said second- quarter profit rose 38 percent as the second-largest U.S. drugmaker introduced the first impotence pill, Viagra, to unprecedented demand. New York-based Pfizer said second-quarter profit rose to $628 million, or 47 cents a diluted share, from $457 million, or 35 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 25 percent to $3.63 billion from $2.91 billion after Pfizer introduced Viagra in early April. Pfizer shares doubled in the year ahead of Viagra's introduction. Early sales of the drug pushed Pfizer stock to a record high of 121 3/4 on April 21, making it briefly the most valuable U.S. drugmaker, ahead of Merck & Co. While expectations were high, the second-quarter profit beat the 44-cent average estimate of analysts surveyed by IBES International Inc. ''It's just a phenomenal performance-- no pharmaceutical product has ever achieved $400 million in sales in its first quarter on the market,'' said Hemant Shah, an independent analyst, who has a ''neutral'' rating on Pfizer. Pfizer rose 2 1/2 to 116. Pfizer reported its second-quarter earnings earlier than analysts had expected. While Pfizer doesn't disclose its earnings dates, it often releases earnings about two weeks after a quarter ends. Pfizer said it could introduce Viagra in 50 countries by the end of the year if it wins approval in the European Union in the fourth quarter. Since Viagra was introduced April 10 in the U.S., more than 2.9 million prescriptions have been filled. Pharmacies have bought additional supply of the drug, Pfizer said. Trovan ''The question is how much reuse there will be,'' said Michael Krensavage, an analyst with Brown Brothers Harriman, who has a ''neutral'' rating on Pfizer. ''The bottom line is that its a highly effective drug.'' Pfizer also could expand sales of the drug it introduced in the first quarter, the antibiotic, Trovan. Trovan had second- quarter sales of $22 million. It had $41 million in the first quarter, a time when flu season boosts antibiotic sales. Trovan was approved this month by the European Medicines Evaluation Agency, which oversees drug approvals for the 15- member countries of the European Union. Pfizer said Trovan could be sold in 20 countries by the end of the year. While Pfizer benefited from sales of Viagra and of a new antibiotic, Trovan, introduced in the first quarter, it suffered a setback in the period as the U.S. Food and Administration rejected the company's application to sell a schizophrenia drug, Zeldox. Pfizer last month agreed to sell one of its medical devices unit for $2.1 billion as it focuses on its more profitable drugmaking business. In January, Pfizer sold its Valleylab surgical equipment unit for $425 million in cash. In the second quarter, sales from Pfizer's medical technology business fell 12 percent to $321 million. Excluding the effect of the strong U.S. dollar on foreign sales and loss of sales from Valleylab and another divested business, sales rose 6 percent, the company said. Pfizer's pharmaceutical sales rose 37 percent to $2.87 billion. Sales of animal-health products rose 2 percent to $320 million, while sales of consumer health-care products fell 11 percent to $120 million. Pfizer said it will spend $2.3 billion on research and development. --Kerry Dooley in the Princeton newsroom (609) 279-4016/dd