Allergan tops Street 1Q forecasts, deal fuels guidance hike

Allergan lost $2.57 billion in the first quarter on higher research and development charges and other costs, but results beat expectations and the maker of Botox increased its 2017 forecast.

The drugmaker said Tuesday that it raised its forecast to reflect contributions from its acquisition of Zeltiq Aesthetics, which makes the CoolSculpting system for reducing fat. Allergan announced the roughly $2.48 billion deal in February as a way to strengthen an aesthetics business that already includes plastic surgery and regenerative treatments.

Allergan PLC raised both ends of its 2017 forecast range by a nickel and now expects full-year adjusted earnings to total $15.85 to $16.35 per share.

Analysts expect, on average $16.03 per share, according to FactSet.

For the first quarter, the Dublin-based company reported earnings adjusted for expenses related to mergers and acquisitions and non-recurring costs of $3.35 per share on $3.57 billion in total revenue.

Analysts expected, on average, earnings of $3.32 per share on $3.53 billion in revenue, according to Zacks Investment Research.

U.S.-traded shares of Allergan climbed $3.20 to $245.15 in pre-market trading Tuesday.

The stock has climbed 15 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has increased 7 percent.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on AGN at https://www.zacks.com/ap/AGN

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Keywords: Allergan, Earnings Report