Wyeth’s Winning Ways: Big Pharma Bounces Back

In the past few days we have seen Merck and Schering-Plough announce results ahead of expectations, and now Wyeth joins the club too, with Q1 revenues up by 11%, earnings per share up 12%, and its Pharmaceuticals, Consumer Healthcare and Animal Health segments all hitting double-digit net revenue growth. Commenting on the results, Robert Essner, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said “Wyeth’s financial performance in the 2007 first quarter was again outstanding. On top of that, the Company added momentum to our new product pipeline by successfully completing a number of important clinical trials for Pristiq for vasomotor symptoms and depression, Viviant for osteoporosis, and Aprela for osteoporosis and vasomotor symptoms.” So he seemed pleased then, and analysts appear to share the sense of optimism. As reported on Bloomberg.com, Chris Shibutani, an analyst with J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., said in a note to clients ``Wyeth's diversified pharmaceutical portfolio provides a reassuring buffer to individual product risks, which weigh on so many peers. We expect that its several growth drivers will continue to perform.'' Of course, don't take this as our recommendation to go wild on Wyeth stock, and DYOR. Find out more via the links below.