Teva Undercuts Its 50-Day Line On Flat Sales As Profit Misses Forecasts

Teva Pharmaceutical, a giant in the generic drugs industry (TEVA), reported a modest profit and flat sales on Wednesday. The TEVA share price fell.

Teva's adjusted earnings per share for the quarter ending March were 40 cents on sales of $3.66 billion. Teva's earnings fell 27% over the past year, and were below expectations of 56 cents per share. FactSet reported that sales were flat but surpassed forecasts of $3.62 billion.

Teva's shares fell 9.1% in morning trading today, to 8.27. According to MarketSmith.com, shares have fallen below their 50-day average.

Teva Stock: Austedo Misses, Ajovy Beats

Teva's first-quarter revenue from generic drugs was mixed. Overall, the sales remained flat at $2.16 Billion. This was a far cry from the $908 million that analysts had predicted. North America sales fell 8% while Europe and international sales rose by 6% and respectively 3%.

Austedo is Teva's biggest seller. It treats involuntary movements among patients with Huntington disease or tardive dyskinesia. Austedo is only sold in North America. Sales increased 10% to $170 Million. Austedo's sales of $245.5 millions fell far short of expectations.

Ajovy, a widely approved migraine treatment, sold $95 millions, a 32% increase, and beat the $88 million sales forecast.

Copaxone, Teva's multiple sclerosis drug that competes with generics, continues to struggle. Sales fell 12.5%, to $147million. This was still ahead of the projected $139million.

The generic pharma giant has maintained its guidance of adjusted profits between $2.25 and $2.55 per share, with sales ranging from $14.8 billion to $15.4 billion. Analysts at Teva predicted earnings of $2.40 a share and sales of $15.04 billion.