Horizon Pharma Slide 16% On Weaker-than-expected Earnings

Horizon Pharma Plc shares tumbled 16% in premarket trade Monday, after the company reported a wider loss for the first quarter and said it's buying River Vision Development Corp. for $145 million in upfront payments. Horizon said it had a net loss of $90.6 million, or a loss of 56 cents a share, in the quarter, wider than the $45.4 million loss, or 28 cents a share, posted in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 21 cents, below the FactSet consensus of 23 cents. Sales rose to $220.9 million from $204.7 million, also below the FactSet consensus of $248 million. "We generated strong first-quarter performance in our orphan and rheumatology business units, with KRYSTEXXA and RAVICTI achieving record net sales; however, our primary care business unit performed well below our expectations," Chief Executive Timothy P. Walbert said in a statement. "The lower primary care business unit results were related to the implementation of the contracting model with pharmacy benefit managers, which has not performed in accordance with our expectations." The company said it is buying River Vision Development Corp. and its Teprotumumab, a biologic in late-stage development for a rare eye disease. It raised its full-year sales guidance to $1.000 billion to $1.035 billion. Shares have gained 3.7% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 7%.