Allergan's Stock Rallies After Adjusted Profit And Sales Beat Expectations

Shares of Allergan PLC surged 1.8% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the biopharmaceutical company reported fourth-quarter adjusted profit and sales that beat expectations. For the quarter to Dec. 31, the net loss was $70.2 million, or 20 cents a share, compared with a loss of $700.5 million, or $1.78 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, such as research and development-related charges and impairment, adjusted earnings per share came to $3.90, above the FactSet consensus of $3.75. Revenue rose to $3.86 billion from $3.61 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $3.77 billion. "2016 was a year of transformation for Allergan. We are now a branded biopharmaceutical leader, focused on delivering sustainable revenue growth, advancing our pipeline, maintaining industry leading margins and allocating capital to maximize shareholder return," said Chief Executive Brent Saunders. Looking ahead, Allergan expects first-quarter revenue of about $3.50 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $3.61 billion, but expects 2017 revenue in the range of $15.50 billion to $15.80 billion, above expectations of $15.32 billion. The stock has dropped 13% over the past 12 months through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has climbed 24%.

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