AbbVie Inc. share price down, projects a sharp jump in 2015 earnings

AbbVie Inc. revealed in an official statement that it expects a steep jump in earnings for the new year, largely driven by the launch of its new hepatitis C drug and strong sales of its rheumatoid-arthritis drug Humira. Generic competition for its older treatments, however, will drag on the results.

According to its statement, AbbVie expects full-year adjusted earnings to be in the range of $4.25 to $4.45 per share in 2015. In comparison, analysts polled by Bloomberg called for $4.42 per share, while a survey by Thomson Reuters produced a consensus estimate of $4.32. The midpoint of the companys forecast marks a 30% increase from the 2014 guidance.

AbbVies earnings will receive a boost in 2015 thanks to its Humira auto-immune disease treatment and the release of its new hepatitis C virus treatment called Viekira Pak.

The HCV treatment provided by AbbVie is expected to be a worthy rival of Gilead Sciences drug called Sovaldi. The treatment also comes at a lower price than Sovaldi, which should be combined with another drug and is estimated to a total of $94 500 for three months. In comparison, AbbVies Viekira Pak comes at the price of $83 319.

As one of the main products the company has been betting on for future growth, Humira has been AbbVies best-selling drug. The drug maker, however, warned of an expected revenue decline in several products due to generic competition, including its testosterone booster AndroGel.

In 2014 AbbVie refused to strike an agreement to acquire Shire Plc at the price of $54 billion. The company was put under pressure by US regulatory authorities over the so-called tax inversion deals. If the agreement was reached, the merger between the two companies would have allowed AbbVie to reduce its tax burden by relocating to the U.K.

AbbVie Inc. fell 2.74% on Friday in New York to close at $65.78 per share, marking a one-year change of +28.43%. The company is valued at $104.82 billion. According to CNN Money, the 14 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for AbbVie Inc. have a median target of $72.00, with a high estimate of $85.00 and a low estimate of $58.00. The median estimate represents a +6.46% increase from the previous close of $67.63.