Regeneron Pharma Expects Slowing Eylea Sales, Shares Slip

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc reported a lower-than-expected profit for the first time in four quarters and forecast slowing sales growth for its blockbuster eye drug this year, sending its shares down 7.8 percent in premarket trading.

The company said it expects full-year sales of its eye drug, Eylea, to rise about 20 percent. Eylea sales rose 54 percent to $2.68 billion in 2015.

The consensus estimate for Eylea's sales growth in 2016 was 19 percent, according to Evercore ISI analyst Mark Schoenebaum.

Regeneron's net income rose to $155 million, or $1.34 per share, for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from $90 million, or 78 cents per share, a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, the company earned $2.83 per share, missing analysts' average estimate of $3.36 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue rose 37 percent to $1.10 billion, still short of the average estimate of $1.17 billion.

The company's shares were trading at $360 in premarket trading on Tuesday. (Reporting by Rosmi Shaji in Bengaluru; Editing by Don Sebastian)