Merck tops Street 2Q forecasts

Pfizer’s second quarter results surpassed expectations with the company beating on both the top- and bottom-line. Sales of the Prevnar 13 vaccine to prevent pneumococcal bacteria contributed $1.5 billion in revenues, up 37 per cent from the year-ago period.

The company reported second quarter net income of $2.63 billion, or 56 cents per diluted share, on revenue that fell 7% year-over-year to $11.85 billion.

Operational revenue growth was partially offset primarily by the loss of exclusivity and immediate multi-source generic competition for Celebrex and Zyvox in the U.S. and Lyrica in certain developed Europe markets. Compounding that difficulty was the strong dollar, which dented revenues by $1 billion.

SuperValu Inc. (SVU) on Tuesday reported fiscal first-quarter profit of $61 million.

Pfizer said revenue grew 1 percent in the quarter, excluding the impact of foreign exchange rates. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $11.41 billion.

While we believe genericization, unfavorable currency movement and the expiration of a few co-promotion agreements will continue to hamper top-line growth, cost-cutting efforts and share buybacks should help Pfizer achieve its earnings guidance.

That beat average analyst expectations for 51 cents per share, according to Zacks Investment Research.

Pfizer now expects 2015 adjusted earnings of $2.01 to $2.07 per share, on revenue of $45 billion to $46 billion. The drug managed to rake in sales of $140 million, against the $95.3 million forecasted by analysts.

Shares of the drugmaker, a company used in calculating in the Dow Jones industrial average, have climbed 10 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has stayed almost flat.