Biopharma analyst Michael Yee has a $67 price target on shares of New York-based Pfizer.
Pfizer reported adjusted net income of $2.12bn, or 24 cents a share, on revenue of $13.3bn in the quarter. Excluding special items, the company earned 35 cents a share, the same as analysts expected.
Analysts at Sanford C Bernstein wrote that while its US sales dipped 5% from a year ago, international sales rose 9%.
“There is nothing glaringly new,” Bernstein analyst Tim Anderson wrote. “[Revenue] is roughly in line with our expectations. Growth in China and ex-US is encouraging, notably thanks to biosimilars.”
Pfizer in July made a $14bn offer for cancer specialist Allergan, its rival in the lucrative generic drug market, but the US pharmaceutical giant walked away after rival bidder Anheuser-Busch InBev and its partner Molson Coors walked away from a $108bn approach.
At the time, Pfizer said its decision to walk away was “in the best interests of our stockholders”.
In a research note, Alembic Global said while its valuation model put Pfizer’s fair share of the generic drugs market at about 7.5%, the impact of the company’s business model on the generic market was not disclosed by analysts.
“At the low end, PFE may have to pay roughly 5% of the market to secure entry for US generics, which would translate into a real cash and earnings hit for the company,” Alembic said.
Pfizer’s shares gained 0.4% to $50.40 in premarket trading.