Teva's Stock Plunges On Heavy Volume After Profit Miss And Slashed Outlook

Shares of Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. plunged 10.4% in active premarket trade Thursday, after the drug maker missed fiscal second-quarter profit expectations and slashed its full-year outlook. Volume of 1.5 million shares made the stock the most actively traded ahead of the open. The net loss for the quarter to June 30 was $6.04 billion, or $5.94 a share, after a profit of $188 million, or 20 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, such as a $6.1 billion goodwill impairment charge related to its U.S. generics business, adjusted earnings per share came to $1.02, below the FactSet consensus of $1.05. Revenue rose to $5.69 billion from $5.04 billion, topping the FactSet consensus of $5.68 billion, but generics revenue of $3.08 billion missed expectations of $3.12 billion. Teva said its U.S. generics business suffered from accelerated price erosion and decreased volume, due primarily to customer consolidation, increased competition from increased drug approvals and delayed product launches. The company cut its 2017 adjusted EPS outlook to $4.30 to $4.50 from $4.90 to $5.30. Interim Chief Executive Yitzhak Peterburg said the company was focused on executing "meaningful cost reductions," asset rationalization and divestiture opportunities. The stock has tumbled 13.8% year to date through Wednesday, while the SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF has gained 7.9% and the S&P 500 has climbed 10.7%.