Biogen Shares Rally After Beating Profit Expectations, Raising Outlook

Shares of Biogen Idec rose 1% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the biotech giant reported better-than-expected third-quarter results and lifted its full-year earnings outlook. For the quarter ended Sept. 30, net earnings rose to $856.9 million, or $3.62 a share, from $487.6 million, or $2.05 a share, a year earlier. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted per-share earnings were $3.80, exceeding the FactSet consensus analyst estimate of $3.45. Revenue rose to $2.51 billion from last year's $1.83 billion, topping analyst forecasts of $2.48 billion. Biogen raised its full-year adjusted earnings-per-share outlook to $13.45 to $13.55 from $12.90 to $13.10. The stock had gained 17% year to date through Tuesday, compared with a 5% gain in the S&P 500.